Michelle Park, CPRP, is a retired
park and recreation professional currently providing agency accreditation
technical support to departments interested in seeking CAPRA Accreditation. She
retired in 2019 after forty-one years in the parks and recreation profession
receiving degrees in the field from the University of Florida and the
University of Southern Mississippi. A native of south Florida, she spent 11
years working with the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department, 8
years as Director of Recreation. In 1989, she moved to Washington DC to become
the executive director of the Maryland Recreation and Park Association.
In 1991, she was
hired by the National Recreation and Park Association as director of
Professional Services, providing education and training opportunities to
professionals and citizens in the field. National program responsibilities
included professional certification, agency accreditation, college curricula
accreditation, playground safety certification, etc.
In 1996, Michelle became the executive director of
the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association. A major function of her job was
sharing the important message to elected officials and community leaders about
the tremendous benefits that public park and recreation agencies brought to the
citizens and businesses of Ohio. She also managed the OPRA Foundation, the
fundraising ally of the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.
In 2008, she began her last full-time position as
the Assistant Director of the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Affairs Department in Gainesville, FL, during which she led the master planning
process, CAPRA accreditation and re-accreditation process, and was the
department’s lead on the passage of a county-wide ballot initiative to fund the
City’s first parks and recreation master plan in 2016. During these years she
also helped to create the 501c3 Gainesville Arts and Parks Foundation.
Awards and recognitions she is most humbled by: The Michelle
Park Family Recreation Scholarship for Gainesville, 2015 to present; B.K
Stevens Award for Service, University of Florida, College of Health and Human
Performance, 2008; President’s Award for Exceptional Service, American
Academy for Parks and Recreation Administration, 2002, 2008; and the
Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Florida, College of Health and Human
Performance, 1999.