Park Access Learning Series: Bringing People Together: City-wide Prioritization of Parks

Jared Mummert is a Community and Environmental Resilience Program Manager at NRPA and a recent graduate from George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government with a Masters of Public Administration and Environmental Science and Public Policy. With nearly 5 years at NRPA, Jared has led work on community engagement, the history of equity in parks and recreation and creating equitable access to inclusive, resilient park spaces. Prior to his time at NRPA, Jared worked as a political and community outreach organizer on multiple campaigns, including organizing farmers in Maryland to close loopholes in the Clean Water Act, engaging Colorado voters in the 2014 midterm election and working to connect low-income families to national parks. Jared has also served in the Student Conservation Association, AmeriCorps, and the National Park Service as park ranger for multiple sites, including Grand Teton National Park. As an avid outdoorsman and public lands advocate, Jared integrates environmental justice into all of his work to ensure everyone has access to high-quality parks and greenspaces.

Kay Kay DeRossette has been the project coordinator at the Central Arkansas Library System since October 2018.  She coordinates the Be Mighty Little Rock campaign.  The campaign's goal is to increase access to free afterschool, weekend, and summer meal programs for kids and teens. Kay Kay has a Masters of Education from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelors of Science from the University of Mississippi. 

John Eckart has been the Director of Little Rock Parks & Recreation since June 2017.  He has a Masters of Business and Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and received Sunbelt All-Conference honors in cross country track in field during his time at UALR.  John moved to Miami, FL in 2005 where he was the Athletic Director of Facilities and Operations at Florida International University.  John moved back to Little Rock in 2012 to serve as the Director of Parks & Recreation for Benton Arkansas from 2012 to 2017.   

Mark is currently Deputy Director for the Department of Community Services overseeing its Parks, Recreation, NCRM, and Project Administration Divisions.

Mark has authored nationally award-winning initiatives for natural resource management. He is a member of professional organizations including the Wildlife Society, National Recreation and Parks Association and Georgia Recreation and Parks Association, where he served on the Board of Trustees. A sought-after speaker, Mark has presented on geospatial applications and natural resource management internationally.

As a steering committee member for Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan, Mark is committed to preserving and enacting sustainable practices for the preservation of the public lands.

Beth serves as the program manager for implementation of the Gwinnett Countywide Trails Master Plan, as an urban design/planning consultant with Kimley-Horn. She has worked in Gwinnett for 5+ years on a range of planning efforts, including the development of the trails plan.

Beth’s consultant work spans both land use and transportation planning as she integrates both disciplines to create great places. With a background in communications, she specializes in community outreach and engagement with a focus on equity and innovation. Beth leverages her skillsets for projects throughout Metro Atlanta, the Southeast, and across the U.S., including a 3-year study with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to increase equitable transportation access for the Service’s 101 Urban Refuges.

She has presented her work at American Planning Association National Planning Conferences, Georgia Planning Association Planning Conferences, and at the Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meetings.

Alexa Bush is passionate about creating equitable and resilient cities. She is the Urban Design Director of the East Region in the City of Detroit Planning Department. She manages a team responsible for planning and implementing neighborhood development and landscape infrastructure projects in Council Districts 3 and 4. She is also the lead for the Livernois/McNichols Neighborhood Framework Plan, which includes the Fitzgerald Revitalization Project and the Reimagining the Civic Commons Initiative. Alexa received her bachelor's degree in Visual and Environmental Studies with a focus on filmmaking from Harvard University and her master's in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia.