This spring, Parks & Recreation magazine invited more than a dozen representatives from our field to participate in a roundtable discussion about the most pressing issues facing parks and recreation, and how this publication can best highlight those concerns. These thought leaders — including high-level entrepreneurs, park and recreation professionals, architects and academics — agreed to lend their time, voice and insights to keep Parks & Recreation at the cutting edge of news and trends affecting our industry now, and for the next 50 years to come. Below, meet the members of our new Advisory Board.
Nihal Advani
CEO/Founder, Georama
Nihal Advani is an experienced digital marketer, globetrotter and founder and CEO of Georama. Originally from India, he spent his teenage years as an internationally ranked tennis player before attending the University of Arkansas on a full tennis scholarship. He later transferred to Stony Brook University in New York where he was captain of the varsity tennis team and interned at Google. Upon graduating at the top of his class with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Advani joined Microsoft where he spent five years in various marketing and data roles across search (Bing) and display, including as program manager for the Microsoft Media Network.
Gerald Brown
Director, City of Sunset Hills Parks and Recreation Department
Gerald Brown has served as director of the Sunset Hills Parks and Recreation Department for more than 12 years. Prior to working for Sunset Hills, Brown worked for the city of Olivette where he served six years, the first one-and-a-half as recreation supervisor and the remainder as director of parks and recreation. In school, Brown was a top athlete, playing soccer at Lindenwood University and St. Louis Community College at Forest Park before playing his final two seasons at Southwest Missouri State University. Brown graduated from Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in parks and recreation, with a minor in coaching.
Ernest Burkeen
Director, Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks
Ernest W. Burkeen Jr. headed the recreation and parks department of three major cities — Detroit, Fort Lauderdale and Miami — before traveling 3,000 miles to “Charm City” to take the helm of Baltimore City Recreation and Parks in 2012. Burkeen spent a decade teaching upcoming administrative professionals parks and recreation administration and contemporary issues in recreation courses as an adjunct professor at Eastern Michigan University. As a Navy man, Burkeen has high levels of expectation from his staff, but also likes to keep the agency lively. As a transformational leader, Burkeen has worked on revamping the department from the inside, out.
Gwendolyn Chambers
Chief Communications Officer, Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks
Gwendolyn Chambers took over the reigns as chief of communications for Baltimore City Recreation and Parks in 2014. Chambers, who has been with the agency for more than six years, previously manned all communications with the media as the agency’s public information officer. Chambers has worked to move the agency from relying on traditional media outlets to a “digital newsroom,” where the agency works to disseminate information to the public and tell stories about the children, youth and adults who swim at Baltimore City pools, run on its trails and use its recreation centers.
Brendan Daley
Director of Strategy and Sustainability, Chicago Park District
Brendan Daley is the director of strategy and sustainability for the Chicago Park District. Daley ensures that the Park District’s programs and projects align with the strategic plan, and that the goals and values within the plan stay relevant and are periodically reviewed and updated. Prior to working at the Park District, Brendan worked for 10 years at the Chicago Department of Environment, most recently as a deputy commissioner overseeing the Energy and Air Quality Division. Daley earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Roosevelt University and an LLB from Queen’s University, Belfast. He is a LEED-accredited professional with the U.S. Green Building Council and a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional through NRPA.
Ryan Eaker
Nature-Based Programs Coordinator and Acting Supervisor of Austin Parks and Recreation’s Camacho Activity Center
Eaker has developed and led outdoor adventure, environmental education and arts programming for youth, teens, families and senior citizens for more than 13 years. Eaker holds a variety of outdoor industry guide and instructor-level certifications and a bachelor’s degree in English literature
Robert García
Founding Director and Council, The City Project
Robert García is a civil rights advocate who engages, educates and empowers communities to fight for equal access to publicly funded resources. He is founding director and counsel of The City Project, a nonprofit policy and legal team in Los Angeles, California. García graduated from Stanford University and Stanford Law School.
Kathleen Gibi
Public Affairs Specialist, City of Knoxville Parks and Recreation
Kathleen Gibi, public affairs specialist for Tennessee’s Knoxville Parks and Recreation, has been instrumental in helping her agency receive an assortment of national media attention for its health and outdoor initiatives, including recognition at the White House from First Lady Michelle Obama and ranking No. 1 nationally among Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties.
Paul Gilbert
Executive Director, Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
Paul Gilbert is the executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks, formerly known as NVRPA), a multijurisdictional park agency with an annual operating and capital budget of almost $30 million. In his role, Gilbert implemented a number of entrepreneurial practices that grew his agency’s enterprise revenue more than 75 percent between 2005 and 2014. He is an adjunct professor at George Mason University and is also the author of two books and numerous articles. In his spare time, Gilbert serves as a volunteer on the boards or in leadership roles of several organizations in his area of expertise.
Sandra Gonzalez
Director, Pico Rivera Parks and Recreation Department
Sandra J. Gonzalez, FASLA, is the director of parks and recreation for the city of Pico Rivera, California. Gonzalez received her bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and her master’s degree in public policy and administration from Cal State University, Long Beach. In 1994, she was appointed by the governor of California to the State Board of Landscape Architects, where she served for more than 10 years. She subsequently served as president for the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB). Gonzalez has worked in the public sector for more than 24 years and is committed to public service. She also holds licenses to practice landscape architecture in California and Arizona.
Greg Harrison
Chief Marketing Officer, Playworld
Greg Harrison is the chief marketing officer for Playworld Systems Inc., where he develops and executes integrated marketing and communications programs. Harrison leads strategic planning, concept development and implementation for the company’s various product launches and campaigns. A father of two teenage boys, Harrison knows all about the importance of balancing unstructured free play with scheduled activities.
Todd Lehman
CEO/Founder, Cre8Play
Todd Lehman, owner, executive creative director and “design guy” behind Cre8Play, has been designing unique play environment for more than 20 years. After many years in the traditional post-and-platform playground industry, Lehman started Cre8Play in 2005 to meet a growing demand for custom play environments. He has spent his entire career building a company that embraces creativity and breaks the mold of traditional playground manufacturers.
Sam Mendelsohn
CEO, Greenfields Outdoor Fitness
As founder and CEO of Greenfields Outdoor Fitness, Sam Mendelsohn has increased the role parks play in bolstering community wellness. With his 25 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience, Mendelsohn has been a pioneer in the push for greater inclusivity in outdoor fitness environments.
Dr. Kevin Riley
Professor of Parks and Recreation, Henderson State University
Dr. Kevin Riley is an assistant professor of recreation at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. During his 12 years as a college professor, he has taught more than 20 different recreation courses. Currently, natural resource management is his main emphasis. His research includes recreational art, recreation and technologies. His work has been published in NRPA’s Parks & Recreation magazine and its journals. Riley has also delivered several presentations at NRPA’s Annual Conference.
Paula Sliefert
Sr. Marketing Manager, The Toro Company
Paula Sliefert joined The Toro Company in 2007 and currently serves as senior marketing manager in the company’s commercial business. She is responsible for supporting a number of Toro’s key industry relationships, as well as helping to develop and implement strategies targeted at growing the sportsfields and grounds market segments, which represent professional and collegiate sports, educational institutions and government, including federal, state and local entities. Additionally, Sliefert serves as an authorized negotiator to the General Services Administration for The Toro Company.
Anne-Marie Spencer
Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications, PlayCore
Anne-Marie Spencer is the corporate vice president of marketing for PlayCore in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and works within the company’s Center for Professional Development. Throughout her career, she has written 23 books and more than 150 articles. She also serves on the board of directors for the Chambliss Children’s Center in Chattanooga, and enjoys working out and advocating for play and recreation.
Stephen Springs
Sr. Principal, Brinkley, Sargent, Wiginton Architects
Stephen Springs’ 19-plus years of award-winning recreation design work has often been recognized in print, along with several articles about designing quality-of-life projects. He has been an advocate for parks and recreation as a municipal parks commissioner, a city plan commissioner, and by walking the halls at the state legislature. Springs has also been an educational speaker at various conferences, and he is slated to speak at the upcoming NRPA Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Randy Wiger
Parks Commons Program Coordinator, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation
Since 2010, Randy Wiger has led Seattle’s Department of Parks and Recreation in engaging LGBTQ teens and youth. His successes draw on many resources and partners, and on his 25 years of community organizing, event planning and programming expertise. He is the recipient of a 2012 Washington State Recreation and Parks Association (WRPA) Spotlight Award for Cultural Competency and the 2011 GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Educator Network) Community Partner Award. Wiger is an activist for LGBTQ issues and works to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Catrina Belt is an Editorial Intern for Parks & Recreation magazine.