Jai Cole

Jai Cole has had a non-traditional 25-year long career path that ranged from pool cashier to ecologist to planner to equity advocate to Executive Director. That may seem all over the place, but it gives her unique perspectives on what makes an urban park system great.

Jai is the Executive Director for the Fairfax County Park Authority, a CAPRA accredited, 4-time NRPA Gold Medal award winning agency serving 1.2M residents with a $130M operating budget and a $180M 6-year CIP. If Fairfax County were a city, with its 1.2M residents it would be the 10th largest in the US. Fairfax County has multiple unique urban centers and is the 3rd largest suburban office market in the Country and home to 11 Fortune 500 companies.

Jai is a member of the American Academy of Park and Recreation Administrators and a Regent at NC State/NRPA Supervisor Management School. She is a captivating and insightful speaker specializing in real, thought-provoking presentations on soft skills, leadership, planning, equity and natural resource management at park and recreation conferences around the country.