2021 Speed Session Bundle: Leadership

Michael W. Klitzing, CPRE, the 2018 NRPA National Distinguished Professional, has been instrumental in expanding and enhancing parks and recreation in each of the communities he has served. A visionary leader, Michael transformed Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation into a national trailblazer in sustainability and inclusion. He brings the unique experience of an appointed and elected board member.

-John Prue (CPRP) is currently the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Program Analyst for Navy Region Mid-Atlantic.  In direct support of the Fleet Readiness Director (N92), provides analytical and evaluative duties to assess the overall effectiveness of MWR programs, at 14 installations across a 9 state area.  Previously, Mr. Prue served as the Installation Program Director, MWR Department at Naval Station Great Lakes. As the chief administrator for the Commanding Officer, he assured a comprehensive quality of life program for over 25,000 Navy personnel, their family members, retirees and other eligible patrons. He had management oversight to an organization with annual resources of $15 million and employed approximately 365 team members. With more than 20 different facilities and programs, they included general recreation, sports  fitness, community activities, child and youth services, lodging/hospitality program, entertainment clubs, restaurants, and other revenue producing business activities. In 2012, his MWR Team won the coveted National Gold Medal Award. They were the first ever Military Installation to win this award. Under his leadership, the MWR team constantly held the Commander Navy Installations Command (CNIC) 5-Star Accreditation which exemplify the highest standards of MWR operations and management.  In September of 2020, he retired from Naval Station Great Lakes after 34 years of service, including starting his career as a college intern, in 1986. Mr. Prue has been an active member of NRPA speaking at numerous conferences, contributing to Parks  Recreation Magazine through articles and currently serving on the Conference Program Committee, and served as the committee chairperson in 2020. He is also an elected member of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration serving as one of 125 practitioners and educators throughout the country who enhance the practice of park and recreation administration and promote broader public understanding of the importance of parks and recreation. Mr. Prue holds a Bachelors Degree in Recreation Administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a Masters Degree in Management from Webster University, St. Louis, MO.  He has received numerous individual awards to date, to include the Department of the Navys Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 2020 and in 2003 for his outstanding contributions to the Navy mission. In addition, he received the Armed Forces Recreation Society (AFRS) Fellow Award in 1993 and the Executive Fellow Award in 2008, for his achievements in improving the quality of life for active duty personnel and their family members. Upon his retirement from the MWR Director position, he received the Navy MWR Lifetime Achievement Award for his years of services at Naval Station Great Lakes and support to the overall Navy MWR mission.

For nearly 25 years, Heather Shuke-Nelson has been a leader, a pioneer and an innovator with Florida State Parks. A versatile park professional who helped Florida State Parks to each of its four Gold Medal Awards for Excellence, Heather began her career as a park ranger before quickly assuming a variety of leadership roles in the agencys central office.  After her first assignment at Talbot Islands State Parks in Northeast Florida, Heather served as Training Specialist, Training Manager, and Assistant Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Operational Services. Currently, she leads the Florida State Parks Interpretive Services team.  Heather developed her love for parks and recreation as a child in Jacksonville, Florida, where she and her family often spent holidays and weekends camping in nearby state parks. She went on to earn a bachelors degree in biology from Florida State University in 1995 and worked at the local Pelotes Island as a Preserve Naturalist. Heather is a Certified Interpretive Guide and recently led Florida State Parks Parks from Anywhere initiative, which provided virtual park experiences in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For this and her other contributions throughout the year, Heather received a TaxWatch Productivity Award for Service, a OneDEP Team Award and was named the Division of Recreation and Parks Employee of the Year for 2020. 

Shannon Coates is the Director of the City of Friscos Parks and Recreation department, which has affectionately become known as Play Frisco! Shannon has a passion for play and can often be heard asking those around her, Have you played today? She is a CPRE with over 15 years of professional speaking experience. She holds a BA in elementary education from Transylvania University, a MBA from the University of Central Florida and a PhD in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Research and Evaluation Methods from the University of Florida.

Carrie Christensen is a Senior Planner working on park policy, design, and community engagement, and led the recent comprehensive planning process for the Minneapolis park and recreation system. With a Masters of Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Stanford University, Christensen has 20 years of experience as a planner, designer, and speaker.