May 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 52

BARBARA TULIPANE
Over a Decade in Service to
Parks and Recreation

NRPA's outgoing CEO shares some parting thoughts
By Richard J. Dolesh

W

e must continually reinvent ourselves to meet the needs of the
public, because, if we stand still in the midst of change, we will
become irrelevant. I have learned that parks are complicated and
recreation programs are essential, but, most importantly, I have
learned that park professionals make it happen. - Barbara Tulipane
Barbara Tulipane, CAE, NRPA
President & CEO, 2008-2019
Barbara Tulipane, CAE, NRPA's
president & chief executive officer,
will leave NRPA June 1, 2019, after
11 years of remarkable and productive service to the association. Her
time at NRPA has been marked
by so many significant changes
and milestones that it is difficult to
pinpoint which have been the most
important.
Barbara took the helm of NRPA
in August 2008, at the height of
the Great Recession, a time of
profound financial turmoil in our

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nation. In fact, the depth of the
effects of the recession had not yet
been felt by parks and recreation at
that point, but they reverberated in
the budgets of park and rec agencies for years to come.
Despite that daunting outlook,
NRPA not only returned to financial health under Barbara's leadership, but grew significantly and exceeded all financial expectations in
gaining new revenues, adding new
members and becoming the highly
respected association that it is today.
Barbara leaves NRPA in far better
shape than when she started. From

her early days as chief executive
officer to president & chief executive officer, her tenure at NRPA has
been marked by achievement and
success. This is not to say it was a
smooth ride the entire time. In fact,
when it was a matter of principle
and conviction, such as standing
up for the rights of all people to
have equitable access to park and
recreation resources or fighting for
full funding for park and recreation
services, she welcomed controversy and even thrived on it. Whatever
you may say about her time leading
NRPA, you will have to agree she
fought for parks and recreation every day she was here.
I worked with Barbara during her
entire time at NRPA, so it was a
privilege to sit down with her for this
farewell interview. She is self-dep-



May 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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