Grady Reed

Grady Reed is the Chief of Park Operations for The Trail Conservancy in Austin, Texas, where he leads the stewardship and long-term management of more than 300 acres of public parkland along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail. In this role, Grady oversees park operations, horticulture, ecological restoration, and environmental programming across 300 acres of parkland, integrating these functions into a cohesive stewardship strategy for one of the country’s most heavily used urban trail systems.

Grady serves as The Trail Conservancy’s primary operations representative in coordination with the City of Austin and partner agencies, supporting operational planning, design review, and capital project delivery from concept through construction. His work focuses on aligning capital investment with long-term operations capacity, ecological performance, and public use in complex urban environments. He also leads the development of data-driven operational systems, including GIS-based workflows and asset management platforms, to support sustainable park management at scale.

With more than a decade of experience in public park leadership, Grady has held senior roles at nationally recognized organizations including Memorial Park Conservancy in Houston and Central Park Conservancy in New York City. His background spans large-scale urban park operations, capital integration, ecological land management, and building high-performing teams within public-private partnership models. Grady brings a practical, operations-focused perspective to urban park stewardship grounded in collaboration, long-term thinking, and on-the-ground implementation.