Gwyn McKesson

Gwendolyn "Gwyn" Hatcher

Gwyn comes from a family of civil servants and is currently Human Resources Director for Pima County.  With more than thirty years of government services, Gwyn has had progressive leadership positions at the city, county and federal levels, as well as the District of Columbia.  Her success has been the result of hard work and dedication.

 

Born and raised in Waterbury, Connecticut, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in Washington, DC and her Master of Arts degree in teaching from Trinity College, also in DC.  She traveled extensively with her work as a flight attendant with the former Pan American Airlines and her travel with her family.  Her most exciting trip was when she traveled solo to Ghana, Africa - an experience that can never be put into words.

 

Upon completion of her graduate degree and as a single mother, she began her government career as a management analyst for the District of Columbia government in 1976.  After the dreadful snowstrom in Washington DC in the early 80's she moved to Tucson with her son Watani for the warmer climate and to fight her battle with allergies.

 

Finding a job in Tucson was harder than she expected, having come from living in two big cities, New York and Washington DC, where jobs were plentiful.  Once she got her foot in the door at City of Tucson, where she worked for almost five years, she was able to share her talents and contribute to this community.  She was hired into Pima County as the Budget Manager and was quickly promoted to executive assistant for the County Manager.  Since 1997, she has served in her capacity as Human Resources Director.  "The job is one of the most challenging positions I've ever held.  I'm never without work to do and my staff is wonderful.

 

Gwyn contributes her success with growing up in a melting pot community that at the time had very few outward or noticeable prejudices.  "We all had the right to learn and to be taught in the same classes.  It was up to the individual how far he or she wanted to go with learning and succeeding.  But most of all, she credits her strong family and good upbringing for her triumphs in life.  She came from a family that was proud to be African American, a family of first.  Her family taught her to overcome any racial or color barriers, and helped her to see that problems and obstacles in life are part of the stepping stones to success.

 

WHERE DOES THIS ALL COME FROM?  Everything I have or accomplished is a gift from God.  I was called into the ministry and was licensed in 1995 and was ordained in 1999.  I am the current co-pastor of  where I serve with my husband, Pastor Cedric McKesson.  I preach by way of song.  I guess you can say I am a striving psalmist.  Living Miracles Church of God is small in numbers, but large in blessings and miracles.  One of my favorite verse is "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".  Philippians 4:13.   The other is Isaiah 40:31," but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint."

 

I have served on numerous groups whose goals are for civil and equal rights, women's rights, improved education and spiritual insight for the betterment of our community.  Those I cherish the most are for African Americans causes.   Everyone wants to leave us behind and so to help push us forward; I served with the NAACP, the Links and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.  I can say that Tucson is the hardest place to get anything done, including building a church for salvation.

 

Here is my best-kept secret and that is the fact that I am an artist and my home contains all of my artwork.  My best subjects are people and faces.  Faces have some of the greatest designs that God has ever revealed.  I have done drawings of interesting faces such as Malcolm X and W.E.B. DuBois.  We are tracing our family heritage right now and we may be in the same bloodline as W.E.B. DuBois.  My great grandmother and her sisters were from the DuBois family.  We are finding some evidence that W.E.B.'s father was the DuBois family born in Chesirek (New Haven County) Connecticut in the eighteen hundreds.  It is a little difficult to trace since City Hall burned many years ago.  Trace your heritage and find out where you came from.  My father's sister, mother and grandmother were either renowned singes or pianists in Connecticut.  It is through their talents that I realized that I have to use the gift of song to sing about Jesus.