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 Rebecca Armstrong, member of the NRPA board of directors (read the first post in this series here and the second 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?

To me, positioning parks and recreation as essential to building strong, healthy and resilient communities is absolutely critical. The strategic plan aims to shift the narrative from parks and recreation being "nice-to-have" to being a necessity, recognizing its full power in creating better lives for everyone.

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

I think there are four key areas that can drive this:

1. Emphasizing park and recreation professionals’ role in advancing public health initiatives and approaches centered on health equity.

2. Highlighting their impact on creating climate-resilient communities.

3. Demonstrating their ability to promote social equity and overall community well-being.

4. Providing evidence-based research and data to support the field's impact.

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 am continually reminded of how systems change can yield extraordinary results; case in point, Aimé Kelly a 24-year Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) veteran, is one of four staffers who help coordinate programming at Multnomah Arts Center. Part of her job is to take programs out of the PP&R facility she works in and into communities across the city. One of those communities lives at Stephens Creek Crossing apartments in Southwest Portland, where residents are diverse in language and culture. Stephens Creek Crossing is a Home Forward affordable housing property, and by serving residents through recreational programs, PP&R is fulfilling its commitment to serve households earning low incomes.

PP&R has partnered with Home Forward on many projects throughout the years. Stephens Creek Crossing sticks out for a few reasons. In addition to bonding with residents around a variety of art classes, PP&R’s Free Lunch + Play program added food and games to the mix. Together, activities from the arts programming and the food from the Free Lunch + Play program meant youth at the Stephens Creek Crossing apartments had all the ingredients they needed for a great summer. The partnership is a great illustration of how PP&R collaborates with community partners like Home Forward to best serve Portlanders.

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?

For Portland Parks & Recreation systems-change through parks and recreation already looks like:

• Integrating parks and recreation into the public health system through opportunities for physical activity, mental and spiritual health.
  • Portland Parks & Recreation’s Free Lunch + Play offers accessible meal service and engaging activities at multiple parks throughout the city. In addition, Mobile Free Lunch + Play serves children and families at apartment complexes in neighborhoods where there might not be a park nearby. PP&R’s Free Lunch + Play program coordinates an exciting program called the Fresh Food Market with partners like school districts, community-based organizations, Multnomah County Department of Human Services, and Portland Children’s Levy. A farmers market-like experience was created providing fresh fruit, vegetables, and nutritious snacks to children and families.This grant-driven partnership between PP&R, Portland Children’s Levy, Oregon Food Bank, and David Douglas School District provided Portland’s diverse communities with accessible services in their parks, in their neighborhoods, and for their families’ wellbeing.

• Implementing green infrastructure for climate resilience including planting trees, restoring wetlands and managing stormwater runoff
  • Portland Parks & Recreation’s green assets, including Portland’s tree canopy, are critical to our community. They help provide clean air, reduce stormwater runoff, reduce heat, and keep Portland livable and resilient. However, the benefits of Portland’s tree canopy are not distributed equitably, with a lower tree canopy east of the Willamette River. This disparity affects the health and quality of life of Portlanders east of the river. On a summer afternoon, temperatures east of the Willamette can be 15 degrees hotter than west of the river. PP&R has increased trees planted in priority neighborhoods and started a new park tree maintenance program. Planting priority neighborhoods are determined using data to identify where canopy levels are lowest and where resources for tree planting are needed most to address existing inequities in urban canopy relative to race and income. With new trees being planted and existing trees better maintained and cared for, PP&R cares for Portland’s urban forest to improve public health, help prevent failures and tree diseases, enhance the health of trees in parks and natural areas, and preserve the urban canopy.

• Developing workforce pathways for underserved youth - e.g., summer job training, apprenticeship programs, or partnerships with local schools and organizations that aim to provide hands-on experience, mentorship, and job placement assistance to underserved youth in the parks and recreation sector.
  • PP&R has nearly 2,000 seasonal, part-time, and full-time staff and is one of the city’s largest youth employers, providing a first employment opportunity and valuable job training skills for more than 1,400 young people each year. One of PP&R”s youth employment training programs is its Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). YCC provides employment opportunities for a diverse population of Portland-area youth. Crews protect and restore Portland’s parks and natural areas while developing job skills and exploring environmental career paths.YCC attracts and hires from a diverse applicant pool. These emerging environmental leaders will have the opportunity to participate in paid internships through age 25. This program directly contributes to a more diverse hiring pool for seasonal and full-time employees.

• Advancing equity in access to quality parks and recreation opportunities
  • As Portland Parks & Recreation strives to become an anti-racist organization, PP&R is working to serve communities centered through Healthy Parks, Healthy Portland, including Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, immigrants and refugees, LGBT2SQIA+ people, people with disabilities, youth, older adults, and people earning low incomes. PP&R prioritizes underserved communities in many ways, including applying a Racial Equity Lens to budget decisions, sharing early registration opportunities with partner organizations, waiving tree permitting fees for people earning low incomes, and more. Prioritization of underserved communities reaches across the PP&R’s priorities, contributing towards the goals of Recreation for All, Protect and Grow Nature, and Community Partnerships.

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

Again, the fact that parks and recreation is essential for creating strong, healthy and resilient communities. We have the answer to many of our community’s problems right here in our own backyard…literally, the backyards that are our parks.

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?

NRPA's new strategic plan envisions parks and recreation as a powerful force for creating inclusive, climate-resilient, and thriving communities. We're focusing on advancing systems-level solutions across the seven dimensions of well-being, preparing park and recreation professionals as community impact leaders, driving increased investment in parks and recreation, and enhancing our organizational effectiveness. Our goal is to ensure that everyone can benefit from high-quality parks and recreation, fostering belonging, well-being, and joy in communities across the nation.

Rebecca Armstrong (she/her) is the Co-Founder and CEO at NORTH and a member of the NRPA Board of Directors.