Linda J. Kotowski, CPRP, is a retired practitioner who remains involved professionally in volunteer capacities. During her career she served as Recreation Administrator with the City of Aurora, CO Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department, Recreation Superintendent in Boulder, CO and Aurora, CO; taught at the University of Northern Colorado and Metropolitan State College; and worked in Englewood, CO and Clarke County, GA.
Throughout her career, she advocated for services for people with disabilities as well as for educating people about the environment and the benefits of outdoor recreation experiences. She has a strong commitment to professional development and initiated and/or participated in planning numerous events at local, state, regional, and national levels, including numerous Colorado Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) workshops and conferences, the Rocky Mountain Revenue and Management School, NRPA Midwest Region Professional Training Institutes, the NRPA Congress and the American Camp Association (ACA) National Conference. Her interest in standards led to her service on both the Colorado state and NRPA national certification boards as well as being a Standards (camp accreditation) Visitor and member of the National Standards Commission for ACA. She also initiated the formation of the CPRA Foundation.
She is a past president of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), the American Park and Recreation Society (APRS) and the Colorado Parks and Recreation Association. She is a past board member of the Academy. She has a B.S. in Recreation from Florida State University (FSU) and M.Ed. in Recreation from the University of Georgia (UGA.) She has received the APRS Distinguished Professional Award, CPRA Fellow Award and NRPA Midwest Region Fellow Award. She has also received the Distinguished Alumnus in Recreation/Leisure Studies from both FSU and UGA, the National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS) Individual Citation and twice received the AAPRA President’s Award. [updated 12/09]