September 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 8

P E R S P E C T I V E S A M E S S A G E F R O M N R P A' S L E A D E R S

Equity at the Center
Several years ago, NRPA established equity
(at the time called " social equity " ) as one of
our core pillars. Since that time, we have been
working to advance the promise of that pillar by
raising funds, providing grants, and launching
programs, tools and resources - all aimed at
supporting greater access to quality parks and
recreation for all people.
Most recently, we launched a set of Greener
Parks for Health resources (nrpa.org/Greener
ParksForHealth) along with a web training series.
These resources are designed to help professionals
work to provide access to not only safe and inclusive parks, but also parks that include green infrastructure features that support clean air and water,
reduce flooding and protect against climate change impacts.
These Greener Parks for Health resources join a long
list of tools created throughout the years to support
equity. And yet, NRPA has never taken a careful look
at how we operate and whether our operating practices
hold equity at the center. Until now.
With the launch of our strategic plan (nrpa.org/
About) - We Are Parks And Recreation - we have
explicitly placed equity at the center of everything we
do. That includes how we, as a nonprofit, charitable organization and member association, operate in service
of equity. To support our ability to keep equity at the
center of all that we do, we have made an investment
in two critical areas, and I am happy to tell you about
them in this month's Perspectives column.

Leadership
The first strategic investment to support a deep commitment to equity is the creation of a new leadership position
- vice president of education and chief equity officer.
This role will engage with NRPA members and advocates
to advance equity, particularly racial equity and intersectional work in the field of parks and recreation.
As our first chief equity officer, key areas of their
focus will include: preparing the park and recreation
field for the future by increasing diversity and inclusion
among the profession; training the field to lead and
manage teams with a focus on equity, inclusion and diversity; engaging the leadership of parks and recreation
nationally on innovative practices; and building out
6

Parks & Recreation

| S E P T E M B E R 2 02 0 | PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G

and promoting tools that advance equity and inclusion
in park and recreation programs.
As our first vice president of education, they will oversee NRPA's professional development and membership
engagement efforts, ensuring that we are supporting the
wide array of learning needs represented in our membership. They will further our efforts to deliver high-quality
educational offerings across all platforms, from our virtual
conference to online webinars to immersive schools.
I am truly excited to partner with my new colleague
in deepening our focus on equity and the pursuit of our
tagline - everyone deserves a great park.

Assessment
As anyone who has delved into equity and inclusion
work will tell you, the learning journey should start with
a careful look in the mirror, asking questions like " What
are you doing to support equitable practices? " and
" What are you doing that perpetuates barriers to greater
equity? " This is exactly the step we are taking at NRPA.
In late July, we retained the services of a consulting
team to conduct an equity assessment of NRPA's operating practices. They are looking at everything from our
human resources functions to our scholarship, award
and grant-making processes, to our editorial processes
and everything in between. The consultants have managed an extensive process, from document reviews to interviews and surveys, to drawing from their deep knowledge of the park and recreation and nonprofit fields. We
expect a robust report of their findings later this month
(September) coupled with a roadmap for bringing our
practices in line with our core principle of equity.
Because we believe in fostering a learning culture in
our organization and in the park and recreation field,
we look forward to sharing our equity assessment process and learning with all of you. Until then, please
know that NRPA believes strongly in leading by example. Most importantly, our work is truly driven by our
strategic plan vision that parks and recreation is a catalyst
change
y of positive
p
g for equity.
q y

KRISTINE STR AT TON
President and CEO

September 2020 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2020 - Parks & Recreation