Alumni Profile: Karleena Tobin ’02, Referee, WNBA; Co-Founder, Elevenone Officiating

We sat down with Karleena Tobin '02 last summer to talk about her career (Referee, WNBA; Co-Founder, Elevenone Officiating) and the impact of her experience at Friends for the most recent edition of Friends Magazine.

How she got here: I made varsity [basketball] my freshmen year, which gave me a level of confidence. I received a full scholarship to play at the University of Delaware where my love of the game continued to grow. If you’d have asked me 20 years ago if I wanted to be a referee, I would've said ‘no.’ I coached for a few years at American University and then University of Massachusetts Amherst before coming home to teach in Baltimore City Public Schools. A former Delaware teammate asked if I wanted to referee middle school basketball. I had so much fun. From there, I networked and went to a collegiate basketball referee camp. In 2012, I officially started refereeing, and in 2016, found my way to the WNBA through the NBA D League. I also served as the union representative for the referees and negotiated the latest collective bargaining agreement for the WNBA referees. That was a highlight of my career off the court. 

Current job: Right now, women’s basketball is the place to be. It's been a long time coming, but fans are starting to see how awesome the game is. Being able to give back to the game that has done so much for me is incredible. I am a full-time WNBA referee. In late 2019, I wanted to help officials in Baltimore who were just starting out and give to them the knowledge and wisdom that I've gained. I ran my first [referee] camp for all levels, middle school to college to pro. I have a summer [referee] league called the Brunton League, which is Maryland's premier Pro-Am league for men’s basketball, to develop aspiring professional officials for the NBA, WNBA, FIA international, and collegiate basketball. Big NBA talent will come through and play to help officials hone their craft. 

Impact of Friends School: Friends built me into the professional I am through public speaking, which is so important to what I do. 

Notable Friends experience: I have a nephew who graduated from Friends in the spring of 2024. My experience allowed him to get that same education. My most notable Friends School experience was when I scored my 1,000th point. The entire community was in the New Gym to watch. It was an awesome accomplishment because the community was 100% behind me. That meant a lot and still means a lot.