NRPA’s Board of Directors consists of tenured park and recreation professionals, citizen advocates and industry insiders, and members serve their terms of office on a rolling basis. At NRPA’s Congress in 2013, the Board said goodbye to Larry Blackstad, Ernest W. Burkeen, Jr., Robert Johnson, Jr., and Steven Jordison, and it welcomed Neelay Bhatt, Kevin Coyle and Roslyn Johnson to its ranks. With Robert F. Ashcraft, Ph.D., assuming the role of chair, Steven J. Thompson concluded his term, and Detrick L. Stanford moved into the chair-elect position and will begin his term this October.

Neelay Bhatt

Neelay Bhatt, who works as vice president of PROS Consulting, a management consulting and planning firm focusing on government and not-for-profit agencies, brings energy and enthusiasm as well as more than seven years of master-planning consulting experience to the NRPA Board. His professional background spans three continents and includes experiences with the 2004 Athens Olympics and Paralympics Games in Greece, Disney Sports and Recreation in Florida, and one of India’s foremost healthcare management firms, Medivision Infomedia Private Limited. Bhatt holds multiple master’s degrees in advertising, business administration, and sports, recreation and facility management from Ohio University and the University of Mumbai.

When asked for his motivations in joining NRPA’s Board, Bhatt said, “With the increasingly diverse audience we serve, it is important to expand NRPA’s reach to a broader spectrum of society, which in turn requires varied and nontraditional industry backgrounds on the Board. I wanted to use my global experience with Disney, the Olympic Games and the Super Bowl to help ‘tell NRPA’s story’ and attract the next generation, and the ideal platform to do so was serving on the Board of Directors.”

Bhatt added that he will spend his time on the Board promoting PRORAGIS™ and championing the three pillars to engage current and future members, partners and advocates in an effort to expand the reach and resources of NRPA. He will serve as chair of the Board’s Revenue Enhancement Task Force.

Kevin Coyle

Coming from a long career dedicated to conservation education, Kevin Coyle currently holds the position of vice president for education and training at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), where he also oversees editorial for the award-winning Ranger Rick Magazine and other NWF publications.

Prior to joining NWF in 2005, Coyle served as president of the National Environmental Education Foundation and president of American Rivers. He was also a founding board member and vice president of the River Network and was the co-founder and first president of the American Land Resource Association.

Earlier in his career, Coyle worked for the Department of the Interior as an outdoor recreation planner and grants administrator for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program for the Northeast region of the U.S. Coyle’s prior board experience includes terms as chair of the Potomac Conservancy and chair of the Natural Resource Council of America.

 “[I] joined NRPA’s board to help the organization develop stronger ties with the broader natural resource conservation community and to assist with board fundraising and development efforts,” Coyle says. “Much of my work at NWF involves helping keep people (kids, in particular) connected to nature in a meaningful way. The current ‘indoor childhood’ phenomenon threatens the future of wildlife conservation. Park and recreation agencies and organizations are essential and key players in reversing the trends and helping kids to get more regular time in nature and outdoor play and learning environments. [I hope] to keep collaborating on joint NWF and NRPA efforts to get 10 million kids outdoors on a regular basis.”

An attorney, Coyle has a Juris Doctor degree from Temple University, a degree in social work from LaSalle University and a certificate in conservation leadership from the Wharton School at Penn.

Roslyn Johnson

As the deputy director of facility operations for the Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation in Maryland, Roslyn Johnson oversees multiple agency departments and is responsible for communicating with elected officials and the public, supporting staff professional development, and maintaining programs, facilities and parks that are accessible and meet the needs of the entire community.

During her membership with NRPA, Johnson has presented at the Urban Park Conference, Congress and Legislative Forum multiple times, and she has volunteered on the Program Committee, Board Nominating Committee and Public Policy Committee for several years. She has also been a member of the Urban Directors Network and the Ethnic Minority Society, and her service includes time serving as a diversity mentor, young professional lunch host and key contributor to the Urban Parks Summit.

When asked what she hopes to accomplish during her term on the Board, Johnson replied, “In order for NRPA to continue moving forward as a national leader and expert, its success is going to be dependent upon recruiting and appealing to our young future leaders and their needs. During these tough financial times when so many agencies have to make some difficult decisions, they also need to be able to see the value in NRPA, and I believe I can assist in getting that message out.”

Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Maryland.

Lewis Ledford Assumes Executive Director Role at NASPD

Lewis Ledford, a five-year NRPA Board member, recently retired as director of North Carolina’s state park system to become the new executive director for the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD). In his 37 years with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR), 10 of which he served as director, Ledford helped orchestrate the state’s purchase of Grandfather Mountain and Chimney Rock and oversaw more than $170 million in grants provided to local governments for parks. Among his other accomplishments, North Carolina’s state park lands increased by more than 50,000 acres under his supervision, and the park system has broken previous records for visitation levels.

“There are more than 8,200 state park sites across the country with an estimated $23 billion economic impact coming from only $2 to 3 billion in operational costs — that’s a great return on investment,” says Ledford, noting that America’s state parks  host more than 740 million visitors a year. “We’re quite a force when you combine the work of NRPA and NASPD together.

“At a time when parks are being cut and budget requests are being challenged, we need to show the benefit of NRPA’s three pillars, which are similar to NASPD’s principles,” he continues. “We need to build advocacy in Congress. We need to be transparent in our actions more than ever to make the case for why it’s important to protect these natural icons while staying on the cutting edge of recreational trends and environmental education. An adage I heard years ago captures this really well: ‘Parks are a tonic for the mind, body and spirit.’”

Call for NRPA Board Nominations

Have you ever thought about becoming a Board member or know someone you think would excel as one? NRPA is looking for both professional and citizen leaders who are passionate about parks, recreation and environmental conservation. Candidates should be active leaders who wish to further the mission of the association and have demonstrated talent and expertise in the field or in their community. NRPA values and seeks diverse leadership as defined by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, appearance and geographic location. We also encourage nominations from all types and sizes of park and recreation organizations.

For more information and to apply, please visit the Board's webpage, where you can find the Class of 2017 Nomination Book. All nominations must be submitted or date-stamped by February 7, 2014. 

Danielle Taylor is the Senior Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine.