Giving Back to the Community That Raised Her
When Allison Cockrell graduated from Virginia Wesleyan College in 2008, she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to do next. She had spent four years playing softball, earned a degree in recreational and leisure studies with a concentration in sports management, and was considering staying in Virginia Beach. But a college assignment requiring her to apply for five jobs ended up changing her plans.
One of those applications was for a part-time day camp director position at the Northumberland Family YMCA. Her phone interview came on the Monday following a long weekend of softball tournament games, and after cheering on her team all weekend, she had practically lost her voice.
"I thought, well, I really aced that one," she laughed.
To her surprise, she received a job offer just hours later. The position paid a little more than the summer job she had lined up in Virginia Beach, and moving home meant she could live with her parents while figuring out her next step. She accepted the offer, graduated on Saturday, and reported to work at the YMCA on Monday.
"I had never even been to camp," she admitted. "I had no clue what I was doing."
With guidance from then-director Cristian Shirilla, Allison quickly found her footing, and by July, she had been promoted to full-time program director. Eighteen years later, Allison now serves as district executive director of the Northumberland and Richmond County YMCAs. What began as a summer job has turned into a career that has allowed her to do something she's always valued, which is giving back to the community that helped raise her.
A 2004 graduate and salutatorian of Northumberland High School, Allison grew up in the Heathsville area, where her parents still live in her childhood home. She now lives in Sunnybank, just a short ferry ride away, and Sunday lunches with her family remain a regular part of her week. Both of her parents grew up in Northumberland County and spent their careers working locally, something Allison believes helped shape her own desire to stay close to home.
"I've always wanted to come home and serve at home," she said. "And there really aren't a lot of opportunities to do that in the field I majored in."
When Allison first joined the YMCA, the organization was operating out of a small former doctor's office near the Heathsville post office. The current Northumberland facility hadn't been built, so programs were held wherever space could be found. She remembers asking Omega Protein to weld soccer goals using old fishing nets so children could play soccer on the courthouse lawn.
She helped develop sports programs, summer camps, and after-school activities while the community worked toward building a permanent YMCA facility. In 2011, Allison decided to try something different. A former college athlete who missed being involved in competitive sports, she accepted a position at Northumberland High School, where she coached girls' basketball and softball and served as co-athletic director.
But in 2015, an opportunity to return to the YMCA caught her attention. This time, the organization had a building of its own, and she saw a chance to grow programs in ways that hadn't been possible before. She returned as program director and continued taking on additional responsibilities, eventually helping oversee sports programming throughout the YMCA of the Virginia Peninsula.
In February 2020, Allison became executive director of the Northumberland YMCA, along with responsibility for sports programs across the association. Just weeks later, COVID-19 shut everything down.
"My first board meeting I led was on Zoom," she recalled. It was an unusual introduction to executive leadership, with facilities closed, programs suspended, and everyone trying to figure out how to safely serve their communities.
But Allison had one advantage. She knew the people. She knew the volunteers, community leaders, and organizations that could work together to help the YMCA continue serving during a difficult time. In 2022, she took on her current role overseeing both the Northumberland and Richmond County YMCAs.
Although the two communities have different needs, Allison believes the YMCA's purpose remains the same.
"We mean different things to different people," she explained. "But we're still able to meet people where they are and provide opportunities they wouldn't have otherwise."
For some, that means a place to exercise or recover after surgery. For others, it's a safe place for their children after school, a summer camp experience, or simply somewhere to sit, visit, and enjoy a cup of coffee. And for many families, it means access to something particularly important in a waterfront community: learning how to be safe around water.
One of the projects Allison is especially proud of is the addition of the DynaDome at the Northumberland YMCA pool, which allows the facility to operate year-round rather than just during the summer months. Previously, the pool had to close when the weather turned cold, limiting swim lessons, water exercise classes, and other aquatic programs. Allison had seen firsthand how much the community used the pool during the summer and how many opportunities were lost when it closed for the season.
With the support of dedicated volunteers and local donors, funds were raised to install the innovative enclosure in 2025. The structure can be opened during warm weather to allow sunshine and fresh air into the pool area, then closed when temperatures drop or rain moves in.
The change has made a difference well beyond recreational swimming. Local emergency responders can now practice water rescue skills throughout the year, and Omega Protein employees can complete water safety training during their off-season.
The YMCA has also been able to expand swim lessons, water exercise classes, and other aquatic programs, but perhaps one of the most meaningful is the Second Grade Learn to Swim initiative, affectionately known as "School to Pool."
Through this program, second graders have the opportunity to receive free water safety instruction taught entirely by volunteers. Even swimsuits are provided for children who need them.
"We're not teaching them how to be Michael Phelps in a week," Allison explained. "We're teaching them, if you fall in, here's what to do."
Children learn basic swimming and survival skills, how to properly wear a life jacket, why they should never swim alone, and how to recognize potential dangers around pools and other bodies of water. In a county surrounded by water, Allison believes those lessons are especially important. Not every family has access to a private pool or the resources to pay for swimming lessons, and the YMCA gives children that opportunity in a safe, supervised environment.
It's just one example of what Allison wishes more people understood about the YMCA. "We're not a private gym club," she said. "We're a community organization that's committed to providing help to folks if they need it."
As a nonprofit organization, the YMCA offers financial assistance to help ensure that families aren't excluded from programs because of their ability to pay. Its work also reaches beyond fitness and recreation.
Through the Bright Beginnings program, local children in need receive backpacks filled with school supplies and a shopping trip with a volunteer to select new clothing for the school year. For approximately $200 per child, the program helps students return to school with the essentials they need and the confidence that comes with being prepared.
While Allison is proud of the programs and facilities that have grown over the years, what means the most to her isn't a building or a job title. It's the relationships she's built and the people she's watched grow up along the way. She has seen children who once attended summer camp or spent time in Child Watch return to the YMCA as employees, volunteers, and even parents bringing their own children.
For Allison, watching those children grow into adults who want to serve the same community is one of the most rewarding parts of her career. She has also watched staff members develop into leaders, something that comes naturally to a former athlete and coach. "People joke all the time that I'm always coaching," she laughed.
Whether she's encouraging an employee, working with volunteers, or helping raise funds for a community project, Allison sees leadership as an opportunity to bring people together for a common purpose. Her own story has come full circle in a way she never could have imagined. Today, her office at the Northumberland YMCA is located in the same gymnasium where she once played basketball as a high school student.
"I've got pictures on my phone of us digging up the old track," she said. "And now my office is in the gym that I played ball in. How cool is that?"
When she's not working, Allison enjoys spending time with family and friends, relaxing, and being on the water whenever she gets the chance. But even away from the YMCA, her roots in the Northern Neck remain an important part of who she is. She knows that growing up in a small community means being shaped by far more people than just your immediate family. Teachers, coaches, church members, neighbors, and even the familiar faces you see at the grocery store all play a part.
"I feel fortunate to get the opportunity to work for the community that helped raise me," she said.
When asked what she hopes people will remember about her someday, her answer was simple. "I just hope I left it better than I found it," she said. "I want to make sure that what I do matters."
And perhaps one of the best measures of that impact is seeing the children who once came to the Y for summer camp now returning as adults, ready to invest in the same community that invested in them.