February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 40

30 UNDER 30
Taylor Witter, 28
Aquatic and Recreation Supervisor, Bloomingdale Park District (IL)
Taylor Witter has made an incredible impact in her agency's community and at
a state and national level. At the community level, Witter enhanced her beforeand
after-school programming by adding innovative opportunities, including
sign language, no-bake cooking, Tae Kwon Do, Spanish, self-defense, yoga
and magic classes, so more than 500 children could continue to further
their education. Witter then transitioned to supervising aquatics and ice
programming, whereby she increased overall admission revenue by
more than $30,000. At the state level, Witter is active with the Illinois
Park and Recreation Association, which has given her an opportunity
to provide guidance and mentorship to hundreds in the field.
Manuel Zapata, 30
Recreation Coordinator, City of Belton Parks and Recreation Department (TX)
Manuel Zapata is recreation coordinator for the City of Belton (Texas) Parks
and Recreation Department. When COVID-19 hit, the city quickly pivoted to
self-led recreation that included an " Interactive Hike " tour of the nature center,
whereby one could scan QR codes along their hike to watch short informational
videos. Zapata taught himself how to edit videos and spent hours transforming
raw footage into interesting clips featuring historians, nature interpreters and
more. As things returned to " normal, " he helped ensure the department's
streaming technology ran smoothly. Zapata also spent hours in the community
garden, making sure it was clean and welcoming for community
members to utilize.
Catherine Zietse, 29
Partnership and Development Coordinator, City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation
Department (MI)
As partnership and development coordinator at Grand Rapids (Michigan) Parks
and Recreation, Catherine Zietse has brought new opportunities to advance the
agency's work through involvement in national initiatives - including the 10
Minute Walk campaign. For this campaign, Zietse developed an acquisition database
that is used to evaluate and track potential properties for parkland acquisitions.
This database prioritizes green space in neighborhoods of focus,
increasing 10-minute walk access to parks across the city, and expanding
connections to regional trail systems. She has used this database to
elevate the importance of equitable park access with city leadership and
has successfully acquired 30 acres of new parkland in the city.
Vitisia Paynich is Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine and NRPA's Director of Print and Online Content (vpaynich@nrpa.org).
Michael Biedenstein, CPRP, AFO, is NRPA's Volunteer and Awards Manager (mbiedenstein@nrpa.org).
40 Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G

February 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2023 - Parks & Recreation

February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 1
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 2
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 3
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February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com