Pictured: Jesús Aguirre speaks to attendees at the Opening General Session of the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference in Atlanta. Photo courtesy of Caught in the Moment.

Publisher’s note: In this blog series, we are honored to highlight the perspective of current and former members of NRPA’s board of directors, as well as members of NRPA’s strategic plan task force, to discuss their thoughts on NRPA's 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, which was unveiled at the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference Opening General Session on October 8 in Atlanta.

These leaders have played pivotal roles in shaping the future of parks and recreation, and they bring a wealth of knowledge and diverse perspectives to this conversation. Their experiences and insights offer a unique look at the evolution of NRPA’s vision and the critical priorities that will guide our work over the next five years. 

This blog post highlights thoughts from Jesús Aguirre, chair of the NRPA board of directors (read the first post in this series here). Throughout this series, these leaders explain what they appreciate about the forward-thinking goals outlined in the plan. Their reflections highlight the importance of this vision as NRPA continues to lead the charge in advancing the park and recreation profession. 

What do you think is the most important piece of NRPA’s new strategic plan?

This is such an important moment in our industry, and I think what I’m most excited about related to the new strategic plan is that it will really help us meet this moment. The work of parks and recreation is increasingly recognized as being uniquely positioned to help communities thrive, and now is the time to focus efforts on our own development, on creating advocacy and building momentum, and on ensuring that we can establish the sustained commitment of resources to support this work. 

How do you think this new strategic plan and direction can help position park and recreation professionals as leaders of systems-change in communities?

Park and recreation professionals across the country already serve as leaders in helping build strong communities. And of course, communities are multifaceted and complex. We in parks and recreation already support community members in so many ways. We help people stay physically and mentally healthy. Our work often serves as an economic engine, increasing livability and property values. We support our most marginalized neighbors in ways that extend beyond the “typical” parks and recreation work. We support and supplement our public safety and our schools and educational systems. We help communities come together to celebrate, to mourn, to protest, and so much more!

So, on so many levels, park and recreation leaders in all communities are already well aware of the system-change nature of their work. The new plan will align our efforts and ensure that we are focused on building an even stronger profession, advocating and raising awareness of the critical nature of our work, and working with communities to ensure that there is durable investment in this social infrastructure. 

Can you share a personal story about how you’ve seen this systems-change element of the strategic plan play out in either your organization or another organization?

I think the easiest example I can point to is the way in which parks and recreation played such a critical role in helping communities respond to and recover from the pandemic. During this time, we saw park and recreation professionals step up and show the rest of the world not only how critical our work is, but also how we support almost every aspect of a community’s well-being.

I am so proud of our team in Seattle, who stepped up and provided sheltering services for our most marginalized, educational services for our kiddos, medical support in testing and vaccination sites, economic support to local non-profits through rent abatement, and basic support for our residents through food donations, and so much more. And on top of all of that, they still provided virtual recreation programs and made sure our parks and open spaces remained available for all to use safely. As we did all of this, we helped ensure that our communities’ systems could respond and recover and emerge in a more resilient way.

What would systems-change look like in your community? How can parks and recreation be a part of it? Is it already a part of it, and if so, how?

As I’ve shared, I think parks and recreation is already an integral part of the change and support that our communities need.

What message would you want people in your community to know about parks and recreation?

I would say two things: 1) We’re here in your community working every day to help you build just, resilient and thriving communities; and 2) please help us advocate to your neighbors and elected officials so that we can continue our work.

A strategic plan can sometimes be challenging for folks to wrap their heads around. If you were giving an elevator speech for this new strategic plan, what would it be?

I actually think our plan is pretty simple. It’s about aligning our efforts around what we’ve learned about communities and our fervent belief that high-quality and more equitable park and recreation systems make communities better for all of us. We anchor our work in serving people in community — focusing on the most marginalized — through the framing of the seven dimensions of well-being because we know that people and communities need comprehensive support to thrive.

Next, we build on the belief that parks and recreation is uniquely positioned to bring about the type of change to the systems impacting how people’s well-being is supported. NRPA's role is to further strengthen our organization and build on our work to develop our members as community impact leaders so they can change the systems that impact community wellness.

Finally, we all work to build awareness and advocacy for durable funding for our work.

I think that may be a very long elevator ride!

Jesús Aguirre currently serves as chair of the board for NRPA. He also serves as chair of the board of the Children and Nature Network and is a member of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration.