Sara K. Baldwin, FCPA Deputy Director/COO

Cynthia Jacobs Sara Baldwin Carter, Ed.D. Deputy Director/ Lee District Park Authority Chief of Operations Board Member

It is not often that public servants are called upon to respond to a crisis such as this pandemic. Nor is it customary to assume the lead role as Acting Director twice in a short span of time; once when our former director was asked to fill a vacancy as County Executive for several months and a second time, upon the retirement of the Park Authority Director earlier this year. This scenario became real, and despite the loss of top leadership, the Park Authority was able to manage and in fact, thrive when Ms. Baldwin became Acting Director. Sara came prepared with a sense of purpose, dedication to increased internal and external communication and the benefit of committed staff assets and agency leadership. She led the Park Authority through the re-opening of the agency as vaccines and masks became available. She reached out to staff regularly, working with managers as well as field staff to problem solve. She made difficult decisions, pushing towards a return to normalcy while overseeing the national search for a new director, the approval of a new MOU and extension of the Park Authority’s enabling legislation with the Board of Supervisors, as well as a challenging fiscal situation.