Michael Shull graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1990 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and is currently a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of California. Following graduation, he began his career with the City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering.
At Public Works, he served as one of the City’s Engineers, immersing himself in the planning, development, and implementation of many City projects. Various projects centered on the Department of Recreation and Parks, where his knowledge and interest expanded with the challenges the City’s park system faced.
In 2005, he joined the City’s Recreation and Parks team as the head of the Planning Division and worked on innovative design approaches to improve existing parks and increase access to open space. Guiding the development of a number of major Department facility assessment reports and parks initiatives, including the 2006 Pool Assessment Report, the 2009 Citywide Community Needs Assessment, the Department’s Water Conservation Program, 50 Parks Initiative, and 2018-2022 Strategic Plan. Since 2005, the Department has added 90 new parks on over 800 acres of land while reducing potable water usage by approximately 50%. At this time, Mr. Shull accepted additional responsibility as Assistant General Manager overseeing Advance Planning, Construction and Maintenance Divisions.
In 2013, Mr. Shull was appointed as General Manager of the Department of Recreation and Parks by Mayor Eric Garcetti. As the General Manager, Mr. Shull oversees more than 450 City Parks on over 16,000 acres of land, 1500 full-time employees and manages an operating budget in excess of $275 million dollars.
Assets include 60 swimming pools, 123 recreation centers, 13 golf courses, 30 senior centers, 300 tennis courts, 350 basketball courts, 25 skate parks and hundreds of athletic fields. The Department’s operations serve more than 100,000 youth participants in recreation sports and fitness programs throughout the City with a prioritized equity approach.
Mr. Shull implemented equity-based strategies and goals in both achieving gender parity while doubling youth participation in many recreation programs. Program data and technology play a significant role in support of those strategies for funding and resource request, which culminated into $160M funding agreement with 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games to subsidize youth sports and fitness programs, removing cost barriers for participation in the City of Los Angeles lower-income areas.
Mr. Shull actively supports the National Recreation and Parks Association and World Urban Parks through membership of his organization and is currently an active board member of the City Parks Alliance.