Thank you to the following parks leaders and subject matter experts for their willingness to review speaking proposals and support the curation of the Greater & Greener 2026 program.

Track Advisors

Parks as Resilient Infrastructure

• Charlene Bradley, Program Director, Knight Foundation, St. Paul, MN
• John Dello Russo, Program Associate, Special Initiatives, Barr Foundation, Boston, MA
• Meredith Gauthier, Sustainability & Resilience Program Manager, Parks and Recreation Department, City of Austin, TX
• Clement Lau, Senior Analyst, Chief Sustainability Office, Los Angeles County, CA
• Carlos Perez, Principal, Perez Planning + Design, LLC, Atlanta, GA
• John Slack, Practice Leader & Principal, Perkins & Will, Minneapolis, MN
• Gaylan Williams, Deputy Commissioner of Planning & Design, Department of Parks and Recreation, City of Atlanta, GA

Sustaining park funding in turbulent times

• Michael Halicki, President & CEO, Park Pride, Atlanta, GA
• Paula Hoff, Strategic Advisor, Parks & Recreation Department, City of Seattle, WA
• Mike Keedy, Chief Engagement and Enterprise Officer, Metroparks Toledo, OH
• Andrew Kiepe, Director of Development, Memphis River Parks Partnership, TN
• Kimberly McNeeley, Chief of Staff, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Austin, TX

Parks & Equitable Community Development

• James Hardy, Senior Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Akron, OH
• Theresa McArleton, Former Chief Parks Planner, General Services Department, City of Detroit, MI
• Rasul Mowatt, Department Head & Professor, Departments of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, NC State University, Raleigh, NC
• Justin Schneider, Community Engagement Consultant, Parks and Recreation Department, City of Austin, TX
• JJ Vélez, Director, Public Spaces, Gilbert Family Foundation, Detroit, MI

parks’ roles in healthy & Inclusive communities

• Mariah Bosquez, Fellow, Environment, Kresge Foundation, Detroit, MI
• Katie Campos, Executive Director, Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy, Buffalo, NY
• Norma García-Gonzalez, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and Los Angeles County Regional Parks and Open Space District, CA
• Barbara Goodman, Board Chair, Riverfront Parks Conservancy, Jacksonville, FL
• Warinda Harris, Community Organizer, Central TX Interfaith, Austin, TX
• Kevin Roche, Chief of Staff, Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia, PA
• Celina Shirazipour, Assistant Professor, Cancer Research Center for Health Equity & Assistant Professor-in-Residence, UCLA Department of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
• JJ Tighe, Senior Director of Parks and Trails, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Detroit, MI
• Annie Ulevitch, Vice President, Third Plateau and Executive Director, Hellman Foundation, San Francisco, CA
• Meredith Wenskoski, President, Livable Cities Studio, Denver, CO

City Parks Alliance conference & research committee

Alliance Board Committee Co-chairs

• Norma García-Gonzalez, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and Los Angeles County Regional Parks and Open Space District, CA
• Rasul Mowatt, Department Head & Professor, Departments of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources & Affiliate Faculty – Professor Department of Sociology & Anthropology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, NC State University, Raleigh, NC

Alliance Board Members

• Alexa Bush, Director, Planning and Development Department, City of Detroit, MI
• Allegra “Happy” Haynes, Former Executive Director, Department of Parks & Recreation, City & County of Denver, CO
• Sherazad Mehta, Associate Principal, Civic Engineering, Arup, Hoboken, NJ
• Carlos Perez, President & Founder, Perez Planning + Design, Atlanta, GA
• John Slack, Associate Principal, Urban Design, Perkins & Will, Minneapolis, MN

Non-Board Members

• Christine Chute Canul, PARKnerships Program Manager, Austin Parks and Recreation, TX
• Paula Hoff, Strategic Advisor and City Council Liaison, Parks & Recreation Department, City of Seattle, WA
• Erin Lonoff, Principal, HR&A Advisors, Minneapolis, MN
• Alessandro Rigolon, Associate Professor, Department of City & Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
• Kevin Roche, Chief of Staff, Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia, PA
• Celina Shirazipour, Assistant Professor, Cancer Research Center for Health Equity, Associate Director, Master’s in Health Delivery Science, Assistant Professor-in-Residence, UCLA Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Alliance Staff & Contractors

• Gideon Berger, Program Director, Washington, DC
• Camly Tram, Program Manager, San Antonio, TX
• Catherine Nagel, Executive Director, Washington, DC
• Frank Accosta, President, Poplar Events, Elmsford, NY
• Miriam Conner, Founder, Creative Policy, Austin, TX

local host committee

City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department

• Jesús Aguirre, Director
• Christine Chute Canul, PARKnerships Program Manager
• Julia Hill, Program Development Coordinator
• Danielle Ciapi, Program and Event Coordinator
• Jonessa Munoz, Executive Assistant

The Trail Conservancy

• Julie Fisher, Chief Executive Officer
• Mandi Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer

Austin VIBE Committee

• Miriam Conner, Founder, Creative Policy
• Constance White, Arts Manager, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
• Katie Kennedy, VP of Marketing & Communications, Austin Parks Foundation
• Caitlyn Denham, Senior Events & Partnerships Manager, Austin Parks Foundation
• Angela Means, Director, Office of Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment
• Candice Cooper, Municipal Program Professional, Office of Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment
• Marjorie Flanagan, Division Manager, Cultural Education Programs, Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment
• Jaime Castillo, Manager, Art in Public Places, Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment
• Davin Bjornaas, Recreation Program Manager, Austin Parks and Recreation
• Angela Navarro, Events + PR Manager, Downtown Austin Alliance
• James Russell, Chair, Visitor Impact Task Force
• Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette, Chief Executive Officer, Waterloo Greenway
• Kelly Pierce, Executive Assistant to the CEO and Board Liaison, Waterloo Greenway
• Melissa Ayala, Vice President of Government Relations, Waterloo Greenway
• Christina Ogle, Senior Destination Services Manager, Visit Austin
• Catalina Berry, Executive Director, East Austin Conservancy
• Bobby Garza, Strategic Advisor, The Long Center for Performing Arts
• Molly Alexander, Founder, ITP Consulting
• Maddy Milla, Events & Engagement Manager, The Trail Conservancy
• Mandi Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer, The Trail Conservancy