Tracy Koslowski moved from New York City to Tucson with her family as a child. Her Tucson home had a backyard in-ground swimming pool. So as soon as summer hit, her parents enrolled her and her siblings in swim lessons. Tracy and her younger sister loved to swim so much that their parents continued to enroll them in swim programs every summer. This led to competitive synchronized swimming, lifeguarding school and coaching.

Pool safety and swim lessons were always important with Tracy’s family. When friends would come over they would have to be updated on the rules of swimming in the pool. The safety awareness continued as her young nieces would visit. Tracy remembers as a teenager that one day one of her young nieces fell into the pool. A family member responded immediately and jumped in to save the young child. Even though her niece suffered no permanent injuries, the incident left a lasting impression. The reminder from family members immediately following this dunking left a significant impact of “what could have happened” had an adult not been watching everyone.

Currently, Tracy is the Public Education/Information Manager for Drexel Heights Fire District in the Tucson area. As a third generation firefighter, her career started in 1993. Early on she got involved with safety education programs. As the fire service got more involved with life safety programs in addition to fire prevention, her love for the water became a natural fit for water safety.

Tracy has been a member of DPCA since 2008 and serves on the advisory board. She also assists with water incident tracking for the Pima County area and acts as the liaison between that group and the DPCA.