2022 NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE | OCTOBER 26-28
Alice Branch Creek Dallas, Texas
Questions during NLC?
Email us at nlc2022@tpl .org .
For onsite support during the conference, visit us at the NLC Concierge Desk on the 4th Floor or email us with your name and cell phone number and we will get back to you as soon as possible .
Contents Guide
Agenda Summary 1
Full Agenda
2
Conference Logistics 5
Field Trips
Reception & Dinner 8
Outdoors for All 9
Presenter Bios .
Shuttle Schedule
DATE EVENT
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME
To Early Arrival Cocktail Reception 4:30pm 5:00pm
Strategic Plan Review
Welcome to Dallas!
About Trust for Public Land 30
PICK-UP LOCATION
DROP-OFF LOCATION
Thompson Dallas South entrance of hotel Gafford home
Returning to Thompson Dallas Hotel 7:30pm 8:00pm Gafford home Thompson Dallas
To NLC Welcome Cocktail Party 5:00pm & 5:30pm
Returning to Thompson Dallas Hotel 7:30pm & 10:00pm
5:15pm & 5:45pm
Thompson Dallas South entrance of hotel
Crow Museum of Asian Art of the University of Texas at Dallas
7:45pm & 11:00pm Multiple locations Thompson Dallas
To field trips:
• Dallas Green Schoolyards Tour
• Dallas Five Mile Creek Urban Greenbelt Parks & Trails Tour 3:00pm 3:30 pm (to first location)
Thompson Dallas South entrance of hotel Multiple locations
Returning to Thompson Dallas Hotel 5:30pm 6:00pm Multiple locations Thompson Dallas
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AGENDA SUMMARY
Wednesday
★ OCTOBER 26
8:00am – 4:00pm
National Board Meeting
National Board members only
Pre-registration required
For Oak Cliff Headquarters
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Pre-Conference Walking Tour
Pre-registration required
Depart from Thompson Dallas
5:30pm – 7:00pm
NLC Welcome Cocktail Party
Crow Museum of Asian Art of the University of Texas at Dallas
7:30pm – 9:30pm
Food for Thought Dinners
Pre-registration required
Various locations near Crow Museum of Asian Art
Thursday
★ OCTOBER 27
All Sessions in Thompson Dallas, National Ballroom (4th Floor)
9:15am – 9:30am
Welcome to NLC
9:35am – 10:35am
Reflections on 50 Years and What’s Ahead
10:45am – 12:00pm
Community First
1:00pm – 2:00pm
How Lands Create and Conserve Culture
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Break and transition to field trips
3:00pm – 6:00pm
Dallas Field Trips
Pre-registration required Depart from Thompson Dallas
7:30pm – 10:00pm
Outdoors for All: An Evening with Trust for Public Land
Keynote and Volunteer Awards ceremony
Thompson Dallas, National Ballroom (4th Floor)
Friday
★ OCTOBER 28
All Sessions in Thompson Dallas, National Ballroom (4th Floor)
9:00am – 9:50am
Stegner Society Breakfast
Stegner Society members only
Thompson Dallas, Washington Room (5th Floor)
10:00am – 10:45am
Park Bench Chat: A Conversation with Diane Regas & Lyda Hill
11:00am – 12:00pm
Community Impact Fund: Fast Pitch Contest
QUESTIONS? Visit us at nlc2022@tpl org | ONSITE SUPPORT Visit us at the NLC Concierge Desk, 4th floor, Thompson Dallas 1
FULL AGENDA
Tuesday
★ OCTOBER 25
Pre-conference activities Early Arrivals
4:30pm
Shuttle leaves from Thompson Dallas south entrance to Gafford Home
5223 Farquar Lane, Dallas TX, 75209
5:00pm
Early Arrival Cocktail Reception
Members of the 2018 and 2022 NLC Host Committees come together in celebration of the return of the National Leadership Conference over cocktails at the home of Texas Advisory Board members Ron and Rebecca Gafford .
7:00pm
Shuttles leave for Thompson Dallas
Wednesday
★ OCTOBER 26
Pre-conference activities
8:00am
Shuttle leaves from Thompson Dallas: South Entrance
8:20am – 3:30pm
National Board Meeting
National Board Members only
For Oak Cliff, 907 E. Ledbetter Drive, Dallas, TX 75216
Lunch provided
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Walking Tour of Downtown Dallas Depart from Thompson Dallas, rain or shine
Points of Interest
• Pacific Plaza, 401 N Harwood Street
• Klyde Warren Park, 2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway
• Crow Museum of Asian Art, 2010 Flora Street
5:00pm and 5:15pm
Shuttles depart from Thompson Dallas south entrance
5:30pm – 7:00pm
NLC Welcome Cocktail Party
Crow Museum of Asian Art
Welcome to Dallas! Marvel at centu ries-old artifacts and unique works of art at the Crow Museum of Asian Art, mingle and meet up, and hear from Trust for Public Land President & CEO Diane Regas, National Board member Taylor Toynes and Robert Kent, Texas State Director Starting at 5pm, the museum will be open exclusively to NLC attend ees for self-guided private viewing of the current collection
7:30pm – 9:30pm
Food for Thought Dinners
Staff will assist your group with walking to your destination, a short distance from the Crow Museum of Asian Art Lyft/Uber available upon request
7:30pm and 10:00pm
Shuttle service provided to any attend ees who would rather not walk back to Thompson Dallas, post cocktail reception or Food for Thought dinner .
Attendees not going to a Food for Thought dinner will have dinner on your own
See suggestions on page 29
2 Thompson Dallas | 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234
Thursday
OCTOBER 27
All Sessions in Thompson Dallas, National Ballroom (4th Floor)
8:30am
Breakfast buffet provided
9:15am – 9:30am
Welcome to NLC
Attire: Business Casual
Kick off the National Leadership Conference Sessions with National Board member, Volunteer Leadership Committee Chair, and NLC Steering Committee Chair, Michael Parish and Tillie Borchers, NLC Host Committee Chair and Texas Advisory Board Chair
9:35am – 10:35am
Reflections on 50 Years and What’s Ahead
Connecting everyone to the outdoors has been our mission since we were founded half a century ago In 2023, we will reflect on and celebrate our first 50 years, and look ahead at the work still to be done Join Tom Reeve for a special conversation with Happy Haynes, Jackie Cushman, Jennifer Jones and Steve Kelly about TPL’s 50 years of impact and the many ways volunteers can play a key role in creating a legacy of outdoor access today and into the future .
Moderator: Thomas S Reeve, National and Hawaiian Islands Advisory Board Member
Panelists
• Happy Haynes, National and Southwest Advisory Board Member
• Jackie Cushman, Chair, Georgia State Advisory Board
• Jennifer Jones, National and New York Advisory Board Member
• Steve Kelly, Chair, Hawaiian Islands Advisory Board
10:45pm – 12:00pm
Community First
We believe community is at the center of everything we do . By collaborating with city officials, neighborhood groups, and critical stakeholders, we ensure that parks, lands, schoolyards, and trails reflect the community’s vision—meaning we build these spaces with them, not just for them This session will showcase how we successfully work hand-in-hand through the complexities of our commu nity first model to build well-loved and well-used spaces .
In Conversation
• Cary Simmons, Director of Community Strategies—Land and People Lab
• Emily Patterson, Managing Director, Colorado Parks for People
• Chris Urias, CO CORE Fellow— Montbello - Colorado
• Jeresneyka Rose, CO CORE Fellow— Southeast - Colorado
• Shelby Semmes, VP, New England Region
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Lunch buffet provided
1:00pm – 2:00pm
How Lands Create and Conserve Culture
Trust for Public Land will meet this pivotal moment in our nation’s history by closing historic disparities in public access to the outdoors and activating sites of culture significance. During this panel discussion, you’ll learn more about our most iconic land conservation work and how protecting these precious spaces can preserve our cultures
Panelists will discuss examples of how TPL’s work to secure public access to the outdoors can strengthen a community’s cultural connections to their land TPL is on track to complete 500 significant land protection projects by 2025, which will result in the conservation of 1,000,000 acres of public land, and 1,000 miles of protected rivers and streams
Moderator: David Patton, Associate Vice President Lands Initiative and Field Programs
Panelists
• Lucas St Clair, National Board Chair, President, Elliotsville Foundation
• Hawk Rosales, Indigenous land defender and consultant
• Dr Jocelyn Imani, National Director of Black History & Culture Program
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Break and transition to field trips
3:00pm Sharp
Shuttles depart, see signs for your departure at the south entrance
QUESTIONS? Visit us at nlc2022@tpl org | ONSITE SUPPORT Visit us at the NLC Concierge Desk, 4th floor, Thompson Dallas
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Thursday schedule continued
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Thursday
★ OCTOBER 27
3:00pm – 5:30pm
TPL Dallas Field Trips
• Experience Dallas Green Schoolyards
• Explore Dallas Five Mile Creek Urban Greenbelt Parks &Trails
• Please wear comfortable shoes . All field trips are rain or shine.
• Thank you to our sponsors: Solartonic & TBG Partners
Sponsored by: TBG Partners and Solartonic
6:00pm
Shuttles return to Thompson Dallas
7:30pm – 10:00pm
Outdoors for All: An Evening with Trust for Public Land
Attire: Festive business casual
Thompson Dallas, National Ballroom (4th Floor) Dinner, Keynote, and Awards Ceremony
Trust for Public Land invites you to our keynote presentation and awards cer emony celebrating you, our amazing volunteers! Let’s come together to recog nize those who have made an immense difference in our work with President & CEO, Diane Regas and National Board Chair, Lucas St Clair . Recipients of Trust for Public Land’s most prestigious award—
The Douglas P. Ferguson Award will be recognized as well as recipients of Trust for Public Land’s Volunteer Vanguard Award which celebrates individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to the mission of connecting everyone to the outdoors by leading the way in new devel opments and ideas
Keynote Address
Shelton Johnson, Author, Storyteller, Public Speaker, and Park Ranger at Yosemite National Park
Friday
★ OCTOBER 28
9:00am
Breakfast buffet provided
9:00am
Stegner Society Breakfast
Stegner Society Members only
Thompson Dallas, Washington Room (5th Floor)
An exclusive event for members of the Mary and Wallace Stegner Society, this breakfast is intended to thank our volunteers who have made a legacy commitment to Trust for Public Land, reit erating their distinction as members of a very special donor group who are invest ing in the next 50 years for TPL
10:00am – 10:45am
Park Bench Chat: A Conversation with Diane Regas and Lyda Hill
Thompson Dallas, National Ballroom (4th Floor)
Join Dallas entrepreneur and philanthro pist, Lyda Hill and CEO Diane Regas, for an intimate and inspiring conversation about philanthropy and how we scale our impact to reach our goals faster .
Ms Hill is one of the few women to make the 2013 Philanthropy list of most gener ous donors and Forbes’ 2014 list of top 15 entrepreneurs who give back to the com munity. Through both the for-profit and not-for-profit entities that comprise Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Ms Hill is committed to funding game-changing advances in science and nature, to empowering non profit organizations and to improving the local communities of greatest importance to her: North Texas and Colorado Springs . Most recently, Ms. Hill was one of five recipients of the 2022 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
10:45am – 11:00am
Break
11:00am – 12:00pm
Community Impact Fund
Thompson Dallas, National Ballroom (4th Floor)
A special “fast pitch” competition featur ing the Community Impact Fund Three teams are selected to present their project proposals and attendees will vote on the winner Participants will judge and vote based on equity, impact, innovation, vol unteer engagement, and storytelling The winner will be granted implementation funds and will be revealed at the end of the program
Hosted by: Walker Holmes, Associate Vice President, Connecticut State Director
Featuring: Shelby Semmes (Vice President New England Region, Vermont & New Hampshire State Director) for the Wolcott Community Forest; Caroline O’Boyle (AVP, Illinois State Director) for The Side Yard; and Sultan White (Hawaii Parks Program Manager) for the A’ala Park Renewal and Revitalization.
Closing Remarks: Tillie Borchers, NLC Host Committee Chair and Texas Advisory Board Chair and Tom Reeve, former National Board Chair and Hawaii Advisory Board Member
12:00pm
Farewell Lunch
Buffet or Grab n’ Go provided
Thompson Dallas | 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234
4
CONFERENCE LOGISTICS
Thompson Dallas Hotel
★ 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234
Unless otherwise noted, most conference programming will be at the Thompson Dallas hotel
www hyatt com/hotel/texas/thompson-dallas/dfwth
TPL NLC Concierge Desk
★ 4th Floor Lobby | Thompson Dallas
Your one-stop spot for getting where you need to go In the 4th floor lobby of the Thompson Dallas, we will be on hand with registration and program information
Conference Registration
Please stop by the NLC Concierge Desk to pick up your name badge and conference materials Name badges will also be available for pick up at the NLC Welcome Cocktail Party Additionally, name badges and conference materials will be available for pick up prior to Thursday and Friday conference sessions .
Other Contacts
CONTACT US at nlc2022@tpl .org for any questions or con cerns We are happy to assist .
FOR ONSITE SUPPORT during the conference, visit us at the NLC Concierge Desk on the 4th floor or email us with your name and cell phone number and we will get back to you as soon as possible
Texas Trust for Public Land Office
★ 3000 Pegasus Park Drive, Suite 752 | Dallas, TX, 75247 (214) 377-8750
Transportation
★ Airport Transportation Options
The Thompson Dallas is easily accessible from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport .
★ To and From Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Time & distance: 25 minutes / 20 miles
Taxi: approximate cost $45
★ To and From Dallas Love Field Airport
Time & distance: 15 minutes / 6 miles
Taxi: approximate cost $25
★ DART Rail System (Public Transportation)
Station is at the airport Take the ORANGE line train to Akard Station (14 stops)
Leaves every 20 min
Travel time: 52 min
One way fee: $3 www dart .org/
★ Thompson Dallas Hotel Parking
Valet parking is free-of-charge for NLC attendees and available at the hotel entrance, includes in-and-out priv ileges . Please let valet know that you are with Trust for Public Land so that you are not charged for this service as this is a special courtesy for our local attendees
★ Dallas Street Car
Dallas Streetcar connects Oak Cliff and Bishop Arts to Dallas Union Station in Downtown Dallas Streetcar
Runs: every 20 min
Daily: 5:30 – 12 a m
Cost: $1
★ Conference Shuttles
Shuttles are provided for conference travel between venues
If you are staying at a hotel other than the Thompson Dallas, please note that shuttles will depart to and from Thompson Dallas.
QUESTIONS? Visit us at nlc2022@tpl org |
ONSITE SUPPORT Visit us at the NLC Concierge Desk, 4th floor, Thompson Dallas
5
Accessibility
We are doing everything we can to ensure this is an accessible experience for all For accessibility questions or accommodations please reach out to Mary Katherine Taylor at marykatherine taylor@tpl org (424) 262-2380 or (434) 660-9073 for more information .
★ Thompson Dallas
Accessible Hotel Areas
• Guest rooms
• Restaurants
• Public restrooms
• Business center
• Registration desk
• Fitness center/exercise facilities
• Concierge desk
• Public entrance
• Meeting room/ballroom area
Accessibility for Guest Rooms and Meetings
• Text telephone TTY
• Closed-caption or closed-captioning decoders for guest room televisions
• Assistive listening devices for meetings provided upon request
• Accessible guest rooms with mobility features have doorways with 32 in (0 81 m) of clear width
Health & Safety
Trust for Public Land is committed to providing a safe, in-person event We encourage attendees to take CDC rec ommendations and their individual circumstances into account when making a decision about masks and physical distancing .
We are actively tracking the emerging news and science around COVID-19 and will continue to monitor and adjust our plans and health protocols as necessary
Event Safety Protocols
We all have a responsibility to help reduce the chances of transmission during the conference, so we’ll follow our own guidelines and rely on local, state, and national guidance to stay as healthy as we can This means:
★ Traveling and Arrival
If you have symptoms that are consistent with COVID, don’t travel
Take a rapid test at home right before you leave for the air port (or within 24 hours) . If you test positive, don’t travel .
Upon arrival at registration, conference attendees will receive a supply of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests and N95 respirator masks inside of your welcome bag
★ During the Conference
Take a rapid antigen test each morning before starting your day . Testing is one way we can help stop the spread of COVID Each conference attendee will receive two rapid antigen tests to use during the event
Mask wearing is strongly encouraged indoors, at your discretion, and subject to state and local regulations There are many reasons why someone may decide to wear/not wear a mask It’s important to respect individual preferences and needs in the spirit of collaboration and belonging For your convenience, each NLC attendee will receive N95 respirator masks to wear during the event
Practice social distancing . Attendees may indicate their contact comfort level by wearing the appropriate red/ yellow/green event bracelet to indicate your comfort level with physical contact/physical distancing . We ask that everyone respect each other’s contact comfort
★ In the Event of an Exposure or Positive Test at the Event
If you’ve been exposed (we’ll notify you) and are not expe riencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19:
• Wear a mask and practice physical distancing through out the course of the event .
• If you test positive and/or are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19: Immediately self-isolate in your room and inform our onsite COVID-19 contact: Mary Katherine Taylor, (424) 262-2380 or marykatherine taylor@tpl .org
Thompson Dallas | 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234
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FIELD TRIPS
ALL RAIN OR SHINE
SPONSORED BY: TBG PARTNERS, SOLARTONIC
Wednesday
★ OCTOBER 26
Downtown Dallas Walking Tour
Join us for a fun and casual walking tour of some transfor mational downtown Dallas parks within a 10-minute walk of Thompson Dallas The tour will be led by some of our NLC Host Committee members and Texas Advisory Board mem bers to explore and learn about Pacific Plaza Park and Klyde Warren Park
Attire recommendation: Festive business casual in prepara tion for Welcome Cocktail Party, comfortable walking shoes
Thursday
★ OCTOBER 27
Experience Dallas Green Schoolyards
The Dallas Schoolyards program aims to help build healthier and happier communities by transforming schoolyards into neighborhood greenspaces that will serve as a place to gather, learn, and play This program is a shining example of the incredible impact TPL has when collaborating with local agencies and partners
TPL leads the community engagement with the surrounding communities and creative placemaking to highlight some thing special and unique about each school Throughout the span of a year TPL connects with community leaders, resi dents, students, and school staff to create a neighborhood park that fits their vision and needs through community design meetings, surveys and online engagement tools . Every schoolyard includes and loop trail and a new playground, an outdoor classroom, community-inspired art installations by local artists, native tree planting and a curriculum focused on environmental education .
Hearing from TPL experts, along with community partners and school partners, this field trip will give you an opportu nity to learn more about this program’s incredible impact on schools and communities With strong partners, you will learn
how this work can be achieved in a relatively short amount of time. The schools included on this tour are Esperanza Medrano Elementary School, Leila P. Cowart Elementary School, and Arturo Salazar Elementary School where you will get to see the transformation to the schoolyards including incredible murals by local artists . These three schoolyards demonstrate the power of green schoolyards to address the equity, climate and health of the nearby communities .
Attire recommendation: Comfortable clothes, walking shoes, water bottle, hat
Explore Dallas Five Mile Creek Urban Greenbelt Parks and Trails
Winding through the hills and valleys of southwest Dallas, Five Mile Creek’s 70-square-mile watershed includes grass land prairies, limestone creeks, old-growth forests, and wildflower meadows. Yet many of these natural features were inaccessible and disconnected from the city’s parks and trails—until now.
TPL collaborated with hundreds of local residents to develop a bold vision for a network of parks and trails along Five Mile Creek and its many tributaries The results will provide opportunities for residents to hike, bike, play, exercise, learn, and enjoy nature’s bounty in the heart of Dallas . The Five Mile Creek Urban Greenbelt lays the foundation for 23 miles of new trails, 124 acres of parks, and the comprehensive revi talization of a unique natural asset. By expanding park and trail access to impacted neighborhoods, the Five Mile Creek Urban Greenbelt directly improves health, education, and the environment, and play a foundational role in the equitable development of southern Dallas
Hearing from TPL experts and community leaders along the way, this field trip will give you an opportunity to learn about the vision and visit the three initial projects within the greenbelt: the 40-acre Judge Charles R . Rose Community Park (under construction), the 82-acre Woody Branch Park (in design phase), and the recently completed 1 .8-acre South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park These three projects demonstrate the power of parks to improve the quality of life for nearby residents and the greater North Texas region
Attire recommendation: Comfortable clothes, walking shoes, water bottle, hat
QUESTIONS? Visit us at nlc2022@tpl org | ONSITE SUPPORT Visit us at the NLC Concierge Desk, 4th floor, Thompson Dallas
7
Wednesday ★ October 26
NLC Welcome Cocktail Party
5:30pm – 7:00pm
Crow Museum of Asian Art of the University of Texas at Dallas
Welcome to Dallas! Marvel at centuries-old artifacts and unique works of art at the Crow Museum of Asian Art, mingle and meet up, and hear from Trust for Public Land President & CEO Diane Regas, National Board member Taylor Toynes and Texas State Director Robert Kent
Includes exclusive private exhibit preview
Location: 2010 Flora St, Dallas, TX 75201
Shuttle: Bus from Thompson Dallas leaves at 5:00pm Lyft: 5min Walking: 12min Parking: Available
Food for Thought Dinners
7:30pm – 9:30pm Pre-registration required
Intimate dinner and conversation with TPL experts centered on one of following topics:
• Black History & Culture
• Lands
• Parks
• Trails
• Schoolyards
Staff will assist your group with walking to your destination, a short distance from the Crow Museum of Asian Art .
Restaurants:
• Miriam Cocina Latina
400 Gradi
Yardbird
Museme
• Sloane’s Corner
8 Thompson Dallas | 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234 RECEPTION & DINNER
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Trinity Divide, California
OUTDOORS FOR ALL
Thursday ★ October 27
An Evening with Trust for Public Land
7:30pm – 10:00pm | Thompson Dallas, National Ballroom (4th Floor)
Trust for Public Land invites you to an awards ceremony and keynote presentation celebrating you, our amazing volunteers! Let’s come together to recognize a few people who have made an immense difference in our work. The recipients of Trust for Public Land’s highest award at the Trust for Public Land—The Douglas P. Ferguson Award and, the Volunteer Vanguard Award celebrating individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to the mission of connecting everyone to the outdoors by lead ing the way in new developments and ideas
Keynote Address: Shelton Johnson, Park Ranger, National Park Service—Yosemite National Park Program Includes: Lucas St . Clair, National Board Chair | Diane Regas, President &CEO
Volunteer Awards
Douglas P. Ferguson Award | Established in 1998
In recognition of the ever-increasing importance to Trust for Public Land of the individual efforts of our volunteers in help ing achieve our mission, we have established The Ferguson Award to honor exemplary performance—not just once, but time and time again—in support of Trust for Public Land and conserving land for people The Ferguson Award allows Trust for Public Land’s board and staff to express our sincer est appreciation for those efforts far beyond the norm, and; underscores how important volunteer leadership has become to our ability to carry out our critical work .
The Ferguson Award, Trust for Public Land’s highest honor, is made to outstanding volunteers in recognition of their extraordinary commitment to improving community health, equity and climate through quality parks and natural spaces and to Trust for Public Land Named for Douglas P Ferguson, a founding board member and leader of Trust for Public Land, and an outstanding Emeritus member of the Board of Directors, the award honors the important contributions of volunteers whose energy and inspiration are instrumental to our success .
Ferguson Award Recipients:
1998—Douglas P. Ferguson, Mill Valley, CA
2000—Christopher Glenn Sawyer, Atlanta, GA
2000—Martha Wyckoff, Seattle, WA
2001—F. Jerome Tone, San Rafael, CA
2004—Henry D. “Greg” Gregory, Atlanta, GA
2006—Patricia Lynn Shanks, Los Angeles, CA
2006—James D. Sano, San Rafael, CA
2008—Ellyn Feldman, Santa Fe, NM
2008—Ralph Edwards, Atlanta, GA
2009—Page Knudsen Cowles, St. Paul, MN
2012—George P. Denny, III, Boston, MA
2012—Allen McCallie, Chattanooga, TN
2014—James H. Morgens, Atlanta, GA
2014—Tom Reeve, Lopez Island, WA
2017—George Bell, Brookline, MA
2017—Shep Harris, San Francisco, CA
2018—Caroline Niemczyk, New York, NY
2018—Patricia Barmeyer, Atlanta, GA
Volunteer Vanguard Award | Established in 2022
Trust for Public Land’s Volunteer Vanguard Award recognizes an emerging volunteer leader within the organization. This award celebrates an individual who demonstrates a commit ment to the mission of connecting everyone to the outdoors by leading the way in new developments and ideas
QUESTIONS? Visit us at nlc2022@tpl org |
SUPPORT Visit us at the NLC Concierge Desk, 4th floor, Thompson Dallas
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PRESENTER BIOS
Lucas St. Clair
National Board Chair
Lucas was born in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine and spent his childhood in a hand-built log cabin with few ameni ties and a focus on living in harmony with nature After graduating from high school Lucas immersed himself in outdoor wilder ness adventures: hiking the Appalachian Trail, paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, and fine-tuning leadership and technical skills with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Patagonia He then pursued an interest in organic and sustainable food, and graduated from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School in London . Following his grad uation, he worked in the food and wine industry for nearly a decade in New York City, Seattle, and Maine Lucas is an avid fly fisherman, boater, and mountain climber. Lucas is now the President of Elliotsville Foundation, Inc . , a private operating foundation in Maine whose mission is to advance the dynamic relationship of innovative land conservation and community-based economic and community develop ment in Maine On August 24th, 2016, Elliotsville Foundation completed a multi-year campaign to establish Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument with an 89,000-acre donation of land to the National Park Service Elliotsville continues to support the Katahdin Woods and Waters as well as conduct work to build more outdoor recreational infra structure in Maine Lucas is a former congressional candidate in ME-2 and now serves on the boards of the Quimby Family Foundation, Maine Conservation Voters, Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters, Maine Public, and the Northern Forest Center He chairs the National Board of the Trust for Public Land and serves on the National Park Foundation’s National Council . He lives in Falmouth, Maine with his wife, Yemaya, and their two children .
Hawk Rosales
Indigenous land defender and consultant Hawk is of Ndé (Apache) lineage. An Indigenous artist, land defender and student of nature, he works with Tribes and conservation organizations to design and implement initiatives that protect, restore and return Indigenous People’s tradi tional lands and waters From 1990 to 2021, he directed the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, a consor tium of Tribes re-establishing traditional and land tenure through cultural protection, education and advocacy . He coordinated acquisition of 4531 acres of Sinkyone land in Northern California for the first intertribal network of pro tected areas, and has designed and led numerous efforts to support ecosystem healing . Hawk has written and co-pro duced documentaries on protection of Indigenous lands and waters . He co-led Tribal efforts in the process to establish a network of 124 marine protected areas along California’s coastline, and authored two law journal articles on the topic He has co-developed several culturally focused con servation easements, and led numerous Tribal partnership endeavors with California State Parks Hawk is the recipi ent of a Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Fellowship He also is a recipient of the California State Parks Dewitt Award for Partnership In 2013, he was appointed by the Natural Resources Agency Secretary to serve on the Parks Forward Commission, formed to re-design California’s sys tem of 279 state parks He currently serves on California’s Expert Assessment Group for the Green List, convened by International Union for Conservation of Nature in partner ship with Ocean Protection Council and Department of Fish and Wildlife, to evaluate the state’s MPA network . Hawk is on the steering committee of the UC Hastings Indigenous Law Center and a board member of California Council of Land Trusts . He was a featured artists at UC Hastings Law’s art exhibit Ripples (May 2022) .
10 Thompson Dallas | 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234
Shelby Semmes
Vice President New England Region, Vermont & New Hampshire State Director
Shelby Semmes serves as our VP for New England, leading the teams and mission delivery across Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts She previously served as the Vermont/New Hampshire state director, as project manager in the California office of The Trust for Public Land, and as an independent consultant focused on the conservation sector’s alignment with impact investment . Semmes holds a BA from Barnard College and a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Environment where she was a Doris Duke Conservation Fellow . She lives in Warren Village, Vermont, with her hus band Grady, sons Sylvan and Ravi, and dog, Obi Wan .
David Patton
Associate Vice President Lands Initiative and Field Programs
David Patton is an experienced leader focused on connecting people to parks and the outdoors His 20+ year career has centered on public lands and park creation, conservation, and social justice. Specifically, he has lead diverse teams improving the quality of life for communities in both urban and rural areas utilizing public space to ensure a sustainable future, advocating for and facilitating the protection and improvement of our public parks, and addressing social justice, education, and health equity issues As a member of TPL’s National Field Leadership Team, David drives the implementation of TPL’s national strategic initiative focused on land conservation . His experience guides his efforts to create a future where every community enjoys equitable access to public lands for healthy outdoor recreation, natural climate benefits,
and social, cultural and historic representation Previously, David led TPL’s Pacific Region to create quality parks and conserve natural areas that are a fundamental requirement for sustaining healthy, equitable, resilient communities This included working alongside communities to ensure all residents live within a ten-minute walk of a quality park, protecting and creating access to public lands, and conserving watersheds and working lands . When not at work, David enjoys hiking, swimming and camping with his wife, Sarah, and two kids, J and Sam . He has a goal to visit every National Park with his family He also enjoys playing, coaching and advocating for youth sports including coaching his kids ice hockey and basketball teams
Danielle Denk Community Schoolyards™ Initiative Director
Danielle is the Community Schoolyards™ Initiative Director at Trust for Public Land where she works across the organization and with part ners to advance the Community Schoolyard movement In her eleven years at TPL, she directed and managed The Parks for People Program in Camden and Philadelphia, work ing directly with schools and communities to transform asphalt schoolyards into vibrant, healthy, climate-smart hubs . With over 25 years’ experience in public space design and community organizing, her career has been formed by the needs of the people—so that everyone has access to a high-quality public space. Danielle has a professional degree in architecture and urban design from Kent State University and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from The University of Pennsylvania . When not working, Danielle can be found hiking with her family and dogs on the trails in the Wissahickon Valley in Philadelphia
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Jocelyn Imani
PhD, National Director of Black History & Culture Program
Dr Jocelyn Imani is a storyteller, edu cator, and community builder with over a decade of experience as a public historian; she joined us as national director of our Black History and Culture program in 2022 In her work, she is focused on reimagining how Black history and culture sites are activated and aims to make shared spaces more relevant and accessible to all populations . Prior to joining TPL, Dr Imani spent time as an interpretive ranger with the National Park Service, served as historian at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, and worked in the Office of Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture .
She has taught U S history at Fisk and Howard Universities, as well as Washington Adventist University, Coppin State University, and others She is also particularly dedicated to the development of strong children, a passion reflected in her founding of the Big Brown Get Down, an annual com munity event that connects upwardly mobile professionals with middle and high school students from underserved communities
Dr . Imani holds a PhD in African diaspora and public his tory from Howard University and a BA in history from Fisk University An avid fan of arts, music, and culture, Dr Imani comes from a long line of musicians and sang before she spoke A proud daughter of the South, she is a native of Nashville, Tennessee
Bianca Shulaker
Parks Initiative Lead and Senior Director of the 10-Minute Walk Program
Bianca Shulaker is Trust for Public Land’s Parks Initiative Lead and Senior Director of the 10-Minute Walk Program She has been with TPL for the past ten years, and previously held positions in TPL’s Federal Affairs and Planning & Research teams, where she focused on funding for parks and national programs, impact evaluation work, and urban planning projects . She has been published in the American Journal of Health Promotion, Preventive Medicine, and by the American Institute of Architects . She has a Master of Planning degree from the University of Southern California, and a BS in Environmental Science, with minors in Environmental Engineering and Public Policy, from UCLA .
Cary Simmons
Director of Community Strategies
Cary Simmons is our director of com munity strategies He is our leading expert on innovative community engagement and partnership models that deliver powerful social outcomes, and his team leads our national partnerships and collab orations around creative placemaking, welcoming and belonging, and civic engagement
Cary has worked at the organization for seven years, pre viously in a field leadership role in the Northwest, where he developed more than a dozen neighborhood parks and schoolyards across Washington, Montana, and Wyoming Prior to joining us, Cary led several nationally significant memo rial design and city park development projects at AECOM, based in Washington, DC He has also worked previously at the Smithsonian Institution, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the Urban Resources Initiative He earned his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas and his Master of Environmental Management from the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University
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Emily Patterson
Managing Director, Colorado Parks for People
Emily is passionate about community and equitable access to nature Her career has centered on the creation of public spaces including work with local, state, and federal partners She has been with Trust for Public Land (TPL) since 2012 As the Parks for People Managing Director, Emily oversees Colorado’s park, schoolyard, and trail initiatives The program has improved access to nature in communities across Colorado in both urban and rural places including Denver, Colorado Springs, Alamosa, Aurora, Greeley, and Clifton . Emily established the Colorado CORE strategy (Community Outreach with Resident Experts) which places community members at the center of our work through meaningful, long-term partnerships with community-based organizations, job opportunities for youth, and career path ways for rising leaders
Jeresneyka Rose
Colorado CORE Fellow
Jeresneyka is a Colorado CORE Fellow at Trust for Public Land She was born in Brooklyn, NY, and moved to Colorado when her father was stationed there at the age of 10 She is a virtual artist and community advocate Before joining TPL’s CORE Fellowship, she championed efforts of art accessibility, social justice, and health equity for her community in Southeast Colorado Springs and freelanced art gigs across the country .
Chris Urias Colorado CORE Fellow
Chris is a Colorado CORE Fellow at Trust for Public Land. Chris grew up in Denver, Colorado . His parents, Juana and Bladimir, are from El Salvador . Before joining TPL’s CORE Fellowship, Chris worked for Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) as a Program Coordinator for the six years Chris is passionate about his community and loves helping connect youth and families to the outdoors Chris enjoys camping and spending time with his partner, family, and friends
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A group explores the new Bethel Community Forest in Bethel, Maine
Keynote Speaker
Shelton Johnson
Author, Public Speaker, Park Ranger: National Park Service at Yosemite National Park
Shelton Johnson was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1958, the son of a Seamstress and a Soldier His maternal and paternal grandparents were Black Indians from Oklahoma Territory and South Carolina respectively He had one older brother and they all lived together with his maternal grandparents for the bulk of his childhood in Motown
Due to his dad’s military career, they also lived for 3 years in Germany and England . The Bavarian Alps were the moun tains that first awakened his sense of wonder.
Shelton graduated from Detroit’s Cass Technical High School in 1976 with a diploma in Classical Music By 1977 he was a college student at Wayne State University in Detroit He eventually transferred to the University of Michigan where he received a B A in English Literature in 1981 and won a Major Hopwood Award in Poetry
After college, he briefly served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Liberia, West Africa teaching 7th grade English Returning to the States he was accepted into the M F A Program in Creative Writing (Poetry) in 1983 at the University of Michigan After a year as a graduate student in this program he spent the following summer working for a Concessionaire in Yellowstone National Park
That summer of 1984 would eventually spark his career with the National Park Service . By 1987 he was an N .P S . Ranger at the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park .
After 5 years in Yellowstone, he worked in Washington, D C , Great Basin National Park, and finally Yosemite National Park where he was introduced to the park’s African American history, including the relatively unknown legacy of the Black troops who served in both Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks
For the past 25 years he’s worked on connecting African Americans, and other people of color, to the National Parks, using history as a tool for social change . Black people are the one ethnic group in the U .S least likely to visit a National Park and changing that fact has become the foundation
for his passion to forge a bridge between the African American community and America’s Best Idea
That work eventually led to media coverage in The L .A Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Associated Press, the New York Times, The New Yorker, U .S .A . Today, the Guardian, Sunset Magazine, ABC, CBS, and NBC regional and national news, National Public Radio, PBS in San Francisco and Cleveland, OH , and ultimately Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan’s PBS documentary film, “The National Parks, America’s Best Idea” in 2009, and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2010
He received two additional national awards. The first was the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from Outdoor Afro, a national park advocacy organization that was created by Rue Mapp to encourage African Americans to venture into the Great Outdoors. This is the first significant recognition that he has received from the African American community regarding his work to connect African Americans to their national parks .
The second national award was from the National Park Trust in Washington, D C , and he was their recipient for the 2022 American Park Experience Award (APEX) Previous recipients of this award include Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan, former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, and former Secretary of the Interior & U.S. Senator Ken Salazar who is also the cur rent U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Shelton is the first National Park Ranger to receive this award, but the greatest honor was to have this award presented to him by Robert Stanton, the first African American Director of the National Park Service, and who has been his mentor for many years .
25 years after intentionally engaging the media as a means of amplifying this once lost history, the number of people aware of this legacy has grown from several thousand to over 100 million here in the U S and around the world
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STRATEGIC PLAN REVIEW
Introduction
This report is an evaluation of the Trust for Public Land’s 2021 progress toward the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan We provide quantitative results against Strategic Plan objectives, directional assessments of organizational progress toward visionary goals, and anecdotal examples of how the Strategic Plan catalyzed mission outcomes.
The underlying concept of the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan is that integrating TPL functions and pursuing strategies that work at multiple scales will create leveraged mission outcomes . In this second annual report of the Strategic Plan, we will focus on scale—how we have approached increasing scale in the past year, and the opportunities and barriers to achieving scale in the next three years of the Plan
It is important to note the national context in which TPL worked in 2021 As the world faced the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, TPL continued to work remotely and under constraints that hindered business as usual, including community-based design, negotiations, and donor meetings At the same time, social upheaval from long-simmering racial injustices and political strife unseen for a century posed both a distraction and an opportunity to raise the relevance of our mission and the issue of racial inequities Across the country, these multiple stressors caused the “great resignation” and TPL was not immune. We experienced 25% turnover—not only from staff leaving for jobs in our field but from people reassessing their lives and making different choices .
There were many changes within TPL as well Our Research and Innovation team and Commitment Leads were combined to form the Land and People Lab under the leadership of Dr Howie Frumkin The 10-Minute Walk Program was reconstituted in PAGR with a new grant from the JPB Foundation. Field Programs reorganized to engage and empower more leaders in achieving mission and financial outcomes critical to our vision for a thriving TPL. We finalized our Organizational Values and took measures to take care of our staff and stay competitive in the marketplace, with additional flexibility, time off, and attention to HR and onboarding .
Despite the epidemiological, social, and political challenges facing the country, the organizational changes, and the problems inherent in pursuing new strategies, TPL had an amazing year. We’ve invested in more, better marketing, and launched our refreshed brand that strategically positions TPL to reach and engage future donors As the results below will show, we continued to grow our accomplishments and impact. TPL’s financial performance was outstanding, and we grew our philanthropy and brand to new and exciting levels
We should be proud of what we accomplished in 2021 While we still have obstacles to overcome to meet our Strategic Plan goals, and there is much work ahead to achieve the scale of impact to which we aspire, we have undeniably established a foundation for future success and growth .
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Quantitative Goals & Initiative Assessment
The Strategic Plan established quantitative goals for each of the four Initiatives These goals were deliberately set to stretch the capabilities of TPL, yet still be attainable if TPL is able to secure the necessary resources and adopt ways to scale our work The 2021 Strategic Plan Dashboard in Appendix I shows how we have performed against the quantitative goals of our plan Some Initiative highlights:
• Parks Initiative: Through 2021, TPL completed 8 park development projects (51% of goal) With the renewal of funding for the 10-Minute Walk Program, we have refocused our policy, advocacy, and technical support functions to better advance our Parks vision With 5 new mayors signing on, 300 cities are now a part of the 10MW . Through our policy, funding, and planning support work, TPL has supported 41 cities over the past year to acceler ate 10MW access to quality parks .
• Schoolyards Initiative: In 2021, TPL completed 19 new Community Schoolyards bringing the 2- year total to 27 We now have new schoolyard projects underway in 12 school districts and have catalyzed a total of 10 school districts (50% of goal) to work toward district-wide strat egies The Schoolyards Initiative has become our most philanthropically-successful program, generating high levels of support at the national, state, and local level
• Lands Initiative: Over the past two years, TPL worked with communities across the country to complete 119 land conservation projects (24% of goal) creating more than 191,000 acres (19% of goal) of public land In 2021, TPL increased land protection staff capacity by 32% and we have identified more than 1.2 million acres of at-risk lands that we are working to protect in partnership with communities While we are unlikely to meet the 5-year goals, we are on track to achieve the annual performance suggested by the Strategic Plan In addition, we added $226 million in state and local public funding for land conservation despite 2021 being an off-cycle election year . Finally, in 2021 we launched the Black History and Culture Program and began to re-launch TPL’s Tribal and Indigenous Lands Program .
• Trails Initiative: The results of the Trails Initiative con tinue to defy easy quantification. However, we know we have completed 45 trail-related projects over 2 years . In addition, we have developed exciting new partnerships with the International Mountain Bike Association and the National Park Service, among others that promise dra matic gains in our trails work soon
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Lands Initiative: In November 2021, we closed on the Phase II Kootenai Forestlands Conservation Project protecting 27,289 acres in Montana
As noted in the 2020 report, our metrics continue to evolve, and we cannot yet measure everything we would like Our current data systems need significant investment to capture our work more effectively Rather than eliminate metrics we cannot yet capture, we continue to list them in the dashboard as they warrant consideration by staff in the coming year
Again, we assessed each initiative in six key areas, detailed in the table below These results can be compared with the same table from last year . We have highlighted important indicators of progress as follows:
• Strategies to achieve short-term goals: By investing in capacity as well as new programs like Black History and Culture and Tribal and Indigenous Lands, we are making progress against short-term Strategic Plan goals . In 2022, we are driving goal-setting and attainment further down in the organization, so that each state and department has a measurable target and performance measure that shows quantitative contributions to the overall Strategic Plan goals
• Strategies to achieve long-term goals: We continue to grow strategies that shift our organizational focus from activities (i e , projects) to programmatic outcomes that deliver long-term results for ever- greater numbers of people We discuss scale extensively later in the report
• Clarity on the role of TPL: The strategic plan has allowed us to better define our unique role in conservation, parks, and open space . Our new brand better articulates the case for our relevance and why our mission mat ters—connecting everyone to the outdoors to solve the outdoor equity gap. We have improved as an organiza tion over the past two years and this is an outcome of the work of everyone at TPL—from the Field to PAGR, to Marketing and Philanthropy
• Staff capabilities, collaboration, and communication: As noted later in the report, we are developing capacity in support of the Strategic Plan and guided by the Business Model Review In addition, through the DEI Action Plan, we are preparing to make investments in onboarding, training, and career development to strengthen our staff capabilities and skills
Health Commitment: TPL partnered with CityHealth to incorporate greenspace policies and investment into the package of recommended policies for 75 largest cities This partnership began in January 2021 and brings together a diverse cadre of TPL Staff
• External support: Our Philanthropy efforts have had continuous success This team is delivering results at increasingly higher programmatic levels, allowing us the strategic flexibility we need to achieve large- scale results We are also experiencing more incoming partner ship interest from like-minded corporations that support our revenue and marketing goals In addition, we are building political support based on our organizational differentiators, allowing us to be more effective at the policy level and in gaining political support for important programs and projects .
• Partnerships: In 2021, we continued to create new part nerships and strengthen existing ones in support of our Strategic Plan . We engaged with the Aspen Institute with a focus on climate solutions for our Schoolyards We built new relationships and enhanced existing partner ships with tribes and tribal organizations. We explored potential partnerships with different organizations, for example, with KaBoom! around parks delivery and data
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Initiative
Parks
Strategy to Achieve Short Term Goals
• Build best-in-class parks projects
• Build new vision for 10MW Program focusing on identifying high-impact policies and best practices for accelerating parks
• Build ambitious cross-functional goals into work plans, and support more integrated TPL support/services to maximize impact in cities
• Expand capacity through sharing staff across geographies and establishing learning processes
• Advocate for parks as core use of community recovery and revitalization funding decisions
• Grow impact by leveraging new public funds and filling gaps left by competitivepeers by hiring new protection staff.
Lands
Schoolyards
• Grow leadership and fundraising in-focus areas of Black History & Culture, Community Forests, Tribal and Indigenous Lands, etc.
• Identify significant geographies where TPL can lead and support community conservation visions
Strategy to Achieve Long Term Goals
• Shift from activities focus to impacts focus for greater scale
• Focus more specifically than broad “10MW” access gap
• Advocate and support equity-based public funding
• Continue to build the data, tools, knowledge, and resources needed to advance park access and quality
• Establish policy agenda that clearly defines TPL recommendations for city action and partner support
Clarity on Role of TPL
• TPL Parks works to close the park equity divide, focusing on access and quality as key components of achievement
• Align decision making, leadership, and collaboration across departments (10MW, Land and People Lab, Field, ConFin, FA)
• Reinforce TPL’s role as a thought leader via the Land and People Lab creation and PAGR policy leadership
• Reinforce TPL as city assistance leader through Field and 10MW
• Grow newer focus areas to enhance our competitive advantage, invest in staff to support with expertise
• Increase philanthropic support through focus area- based fundraising
• Develop a regionally relevant and nationally significant Decision Support tool to increase project identification
•
Manage internal tension: # of projects/ acres/revenue vs. longer more complex community-based work
• Increase national role in developing and sharing best practices in community conservation; policy, funding, collaborations, execution
• Expand to new geographies where the climate, health, equity, and education needs are the greatest.
• Develop new models of program delivery not reliant on office location: joint use agreements, technical assistance, statewide policy, catalyst funding, resulting in greater impact at scale
• Grow district and state scale delivery thought-leadership
• Use updated metrics to change expectations scale of impacts
• Strengthen the evidence- base through evaluation of field projects and disseminate best practices.
• Leverage reputation as confident implementers into leadership in the schoolyards movement through thought leadership, standard-setting, advocacy, resource creation, and technical assistance
• Pilot place-based collaboration with new partners (IMBA et al.)
• Claim leadership role nationally through execution, research, and data analytics
• Build relationship w/NPS to develop project leads on National Trails System
• Develop funding model and partners to “activate” land protection projects with great trails.
• Leverage federal funding in new DOT programs for trails and parks.
• Build health & equity frame for trails
• Fund and deploy national trail mapping expertise to create thought-leadership on trail access, competitive advantage in trails space
• Develop economic benefits case for rural trails
• Better define TPL’s unique leadership role leveraging real estate, community capacity, and national scope of mapping
• Pilot deeper community-based engagement surrounding trail development beyond land protection role
• Become the “go-to” land conservation group for grassroots trails groups when treasured trails are threatened
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Trails
Staff—Capabilities, Collaboration, Communication
Strengthen organization-wide priorities around parks
Improve cross- organizational learning, support, and leadership
Increase technical leadership in FAST
External Support
Diversify support for non-project park work
Position the Land and People Lab to take on a leadership role in capturing our expertise (i.e., academic partnerships to study project outcomes)
Explore partnership opportunities to meet impact needs (such as programming)
Build coalitions and pursue partnerships that advance advocacy for equitable park funding
Current Partnerships
Hire staff to enable us to hit community and acres goals
Develop philanthropy support for more strategic Lands outcomes (beyond bucks/acres)
New focus areas mean new or deeper partnerships, growth potential in identity or issue-based groups rather than conservation peers
Stronger national collaboration on community landscape opportunities
Build increased capability to develop schoolyards practice area for scale, technical excellence
Build capacity to engage in school policy and financing in states and tribal locations.
Increase clarity of roles in relationship w GSA and C&NN, to grow our national role and avoid redundancy
Externalize our portfolio of expertise by sharing our tools and resources with others
learning group akin to schoolyards to support trail growth and shared learning
staff capacity to amplify community benefit of trails work beyond land protection
Expand capability to execute NPS LWCF projects along National Trails System
No significant private national funding solicited (as expected)
Significant growth in place-based funding
Funding relationships w/ NPF, ATC, NPCA
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(see Appendix II) •
•
•
•
•
•
•
• NRPA • ULI • CPA • NPS • RCC • C&NN • NLC • USCM •
•
•
•
• LWCF Coalition • NPF • NPS • NTHP • NLC • DOD • Tribes •
•
•
•
• C&NN • GSA • NSBA • Aspen Institute • Healthy Schools Network • Replicate
• Expand
•
•
•
•
• ATC • IMBA • PNTS • NPS • SCA
2021 Progress and Organizational Adoption
We continued to make investments and organizational changes to improve the adoption of Strategic Plan priorities and deliver Plan outcomes. These are summarized below.
Strategic Initiatives:
• What we did: We restructured the initiative leader positions to better focus on strategy development, cul tivating partnerships, and fundraising In 2020, only the Schoolyards Initiative Director was a full-time position; the other three leaders were in “hybrid” positions This year, we made all four Initiative Directors into full- time roles This change facilitated better focus and strategic development for the initiatives
• What’s next: This year we will finalize the communica tion plan for the Initiatives for more visibility within the organization to better facilitate plan integration. These positions also serve on the advisory committee for the Land and People Lab, strengthening the collaboration between departments .
Federal Affairs:
• What we did: Our continued work allowed us to secure $900 million for LWCF again in 2021 This accomplish ment was made possible by TPL’s advocacy that led
to the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 We helped advocate and inform priorities within ORLP, securing $110 million The Federal Affairs team worked tirelessly on earmarks and securing funding for TPL projects from LWCF We drafted the Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act (PJEA) and had it introduced in both the House and Senate We worked with members of Congress to get important provisions from PJEA included in the Build Back Better legislation The creation of the Parks Coalition focused on the passage of PJEA, led and man aged by TPL, continues to advocate for increased funding for ORLP, the passage of the Outdoors for All Act, and the inclusion of PJEA in any future climate package .
• What’s Next: In March, Congress passed a FY22 spending bill that secured nearly $84 million in funding for TPL projects, including $16 million in earmarks for 8 targeted TPL Projects . The Federal Affairs team will host a series of webinars to disseminate information across the organi zation regarding accessing new funding programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and how to develop successful earmarks With more Federal funding on the table than ever before our Federal Affairs team will focus on providing TPL and, especially, our community-based partners with the opportunity to access these funds
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Trails Initiative: We helped the Town of Hanover, NH acquire the 254-acre Mink Community Forest, but we also worked with the town to raise a trails acti vation fund that allowed for a new trailhead parking area, kiosks, and a one mile loop trail to be built immediately after the acquisition closed TPL’s Trails Initiative is committed to delivering a broader range of community open space benefits including great trails close to home.
Conservation Finance:
• What we did: We began an intentional effort to change the type of ballot measures we pursue and lead . We started prioritizing measures that include equity provi sions and/or fund natural climate solutions It will take a time to change the mix in our ballot measure pipeline, but the work has begun We helped design and sought voter support for eight park, climate, and land conser vation ballot measures in six communities We secured $731 million for parks and land conservation through budget measures and legislative efforts Measure 1A in Arapahoe County, Colorado, was approved making per manent the current county sales and use tax This tax is estimated to generate $28 million in annual revenue over the next twenty years, dedicated to maintaining parks and wildlife areas, trails, water conservation projects, and local farms
• What’s next: Our Conservation Finance Team will con tinue the pivot to focusing on measures involving equitable park funding, natural climate solutions, and TPL Field priorities .
Marketing Communications:
• What we did: On March 1, 2022, we launched TPL’s new brand to reach new future donors. While not specifically identified in the Strategic Plan, this work is vital to the evolution of TPL to meet the vision for the organization in the Plan and expand our donor base for a sustainable future
• What’s next: The new tpl org goes live this summer, and the new brand marketing campaign will go live this fall, Marketing is leading a “Year of Storytelling” effort to support the new messaging and positioning of the brand with staff and volunteers . This work will prepare us for, 2023, when we celebrate TPL’s 50th anniversary .
Cross-Cutting Efforts:
• What we did: We undertook several cross-cutting efforts that will deliver mission results in line with the Strategic Plan We launched the Black History and Culture program including development of a portfolio of charismatic projects, launching an advisory committee, and raising significant funding. We also prioritized the Equitable Communities Fund, resulting in raising major private funding for both the fund and for individual projects (including a $2 million grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation) This effort funded a grants
manager position in Federal Affairs and directly funded several ECF projects We also relaunched TPL’s Tribal and Indigenous Lands Program, building on our historic work in this area and including multiple TPL departments cur rently doing that work
• What’s next: In 2022, we intend to update and revise the Equitable Communities Fund as an evergreen strategy along with commencing direct granting to community partners and the development of a national strategy for building partner networks (housed in the Land and People Lab). We will hire our first Director of Black History and Culture Finally, we will develop and implement a comprehensive Tribal and Indigenous Lands strategy and hire a director to lead implementation .
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Schoolyards Initiative: Our Community Schoolyards Campaign reached 2 5m future donors in fall 2021 The campaign included two new reports, a Park Bench Chat featuring leaders in park equity and education, a petition calling on Congress to deepen their investment in schoolyards, and media coverage in outlets like ABC News and Grist
Staff capacity and skills:
• What we did: We completed the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion evaluation and reviewed recommendations for a DEI plan . The evaluation highlighted investments that are needed to build organizational skill sets for the Strategic Plan In addition, we formally launched the Next Generation of Land Conservation Professionals effort and hired and began onboarding 14 new early-career Project Associates
• What’s next: We will complete the DEI Action Plan with broad organizational engagement and begin implemen tation of the plan in 2022 Many of the actions in the plan will both improve TPL’s DEI performance (an important strategic goal), build staff skills, and organizational culture to better adopt the Strategic Plan . This includes hiring a Chief People and Culture Officer. The Next Generation Land Conservation Professionals work is transitioning to training, development, and mentoring to build a cohort that is ready to contribute at a high-mission level
Modernizing our data systems:
• What we did: As reported last year, our Business Model Review and other activities highlighted the need for a robust modernization of our data systems. In 2021, we contracted for an IT Roadmap that would identify, prior itize, and outline the investments needed to ensure our systems supported the work we need to accomplish to achieve the Strategic Plan
• What’s next: The IT Roadmap project will be completed in spring, 2022 With new cash reserves available for investment, we expect to prioritize systems investments and begin implementation An ad hoc committee of the Board of Directors along with a wide staff engagement strategy are helping shape the implementation plan
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Climate Commitment: A Climate Smart Cities partnership across the Chicago-Calumet River watersheds will identify where parks and green infrastructure can build climate and community resilience
The Challenge Ahead: Integrating for Scale
The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan contains the basic assumption that TPL will increasingly leverage our mission accomplishments to effectuate greater change at a nationwide scale. How do we define “achieving scale?”
Throughout the history of TPL, we have curated a portfolio of on-the-ground projects whose completion delivered results to a served population for the scale of the project (for example for those living within a 10-minute walk of the project) In addition, TPL used tools intended to reach more people with results Conservation Finance ballot initiatives created funding for parks and open space at the city, county, and state scale; “greenprints” and parks plans created data and analysis that supported others’ work to deliver on-theground results .
The Strategic Plan suggests that TPL will continue, or increase, the delivery of on-the-ground results for people and communities . At the same time, however, we will increasingly seek to create large-scale results and create systems change that will dramatically increase the benefits of parks and open space for millions more people than can be achieved through on-the-ground projects alone
Definition, Achieving Scale: Scale is achieved when impact grows at a geometrically faster rate than the investment of incremental resources. At TPL, this means that organizational growth should deliver mission results at a much higher rate than the internal growth of funding.
This does not mean we need to change the organization to be exclusively policy-focused or that we should eliminate on-the-ground programs . Rather, the implied assumption is that TPL will integrate the different tools and programs to leverage each with the others, always seeking to grow impact . This requires a “theory of change” that includes all facets of TPL and delineates how each contributes to and builds from the others to constantly grow our impact . This conceptualization of a common theory of change across TPL is the current work of leadership
Today, we are placing the basic building blocks of an inte grated, aligned organization built to use our history, experi ence, and technical expertise to deliver ever-more leveraged results The following are examples of recent changes and new functionalities that will deliver those outcomes
Land and People Lab: At the end of 2021, the following functions were combined into a new organizational unit— Research and Innovation, Conservation Economics, and
National Programs (consisting mostly of the Strategic Commitments) Now led by recently-hired SVP Dr Howard Frumkin, the newly named, Land and People Lab represents TPL’s commitment to evidence-based leadership in the conservation and parks fields. The Land and People Lab will draw on the wealth of knowledge and experience gained from on-the-ground projects at TPL, rigorous evaluation of TPL results, and cutting edge academic research to drive our field projects to be best-in-class examples, inform our policy agenda, and provide our peers and partners with the top information available for implementing parks and open space solutions
Community Commitment: Through funding received from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, we were able to introduce the Community Partner Network to our DDCF ECF community partners The Network is a peer-topeer driven network that will build on Partner leadership, provide technical assistance, and establish new connections among participants who may not otherwise know each other
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This year, the Land and People Lab will solidify their strategy to advance TPL thought leadership and establish initial objectives and goals In 2022, the Land and People Lab also created an internal advisory committee consisting of Field staff and Initiative Directors to strengthen national and local mission delivery We are developing a strategy to integrate the Strategic Commitments (Community, Equity, Health, and Climate) into all Initiative strategies Finally, we are developing a robust project evaluation discipline, beginning with our Schoolyards work This strategy will improve local TPL outcomes, and, potentially, will allow TPL to influence the entire parks and open space sector through adoption of TPL evaluation protocols as a professional standard
A New Approach to Federal Affairs: For a majority of TPL’s history, the role of Federal Affairs was to ensure adequate federal funding for conservation (i e . , permanent authorization and full funding for LWCF) and to acquire those funds for specific TPL projects. Under SVP Bill Lee, Federal Affairs still seeks funding for TPL projects, but now also develops new targeted funding sources, works to ensure that legislated funds are not only used to advance TPL interests but are also available and accessible to marginalized communities Federal Affairs promotes policy positions that
either advance TPL goals or break down barriers that reduce our effectiveness This new approach requires increased linkages among PAGR, Field Programs, and the Land and People Lab, as well as partnerships and alliances outside TPL 10-Minute Walk: With the completion of the first Parks for People Plan in 2014, the 10-minute walk became the foundation for our parks strategy In the past seven years, we have continued to focus on using the concept of a 10-minute walk to a park to catalyze a movement to create new and better parks across the nation . In 2021, the 10-Minute Walk Program was restructured to focus on identifying and sharing high- impact policies and best practices that can influence more progress in our parks agenda . By moving this team into PAGR, we are now aligning the work with our federal strategies and Conservation Finance
Furthermore, the 10MW Program and the Parks Initiative were directly integrated by promoting Bianca Shulaker as director for both This integration has already resulted in better coordination with Field Programs; the Program is leveraging field experience with parks while also generating on-the-ground opportunities for field teams.
24 Thompson Dallas | 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234
Parks Initiative: In July 2021, Cook Park was completed in the heart of Atlanta’s Vine City neighborhood- the former home to Dr . Martin Luther King Jr . and several other civil rights leaders. It transformed 16 acres of flood plane into an innovative and vibrant new park.
Reorganized Field Management: We promoted six leaders to Regional VPs, and promoted all state directors to the position of AVP in September These promotions signaled the increased responsibility and authority given to these individuals for delivering the results of the Strategic Plan Field Programs serves TPL to the highest degree by delivering best-in-class projects and programs, creating the conditions for continuous experimentation and learning, building new and exciting local relationships, and integrating across TPL to promote organization-wide success. The new management roles empower field leaders to seek new and innovative ways of achieving results and to generate needed financial performance that allows TPL to grow into evermore efficacious organization.
These four examples are not the only ways that TPL is seeking to achieve greater scale . The TPL Brand Refresh, led by CMO I Ling Thompson, aligns TPL’s outward facing identity with our focus on scale and systems change . The Philanthropy team, led by Pat Watson, is developing strategies to increase our philanthropic revenue to $100 million per year in support of the growth assumptions of the Strategic Plan Our Finance, IT, and HR functions, led by Jim Obendorf, are developing plans for new systems and approaches to support a TPL that is reoriented toward scaled outcomes. The entire organization is being retooled to deliver large-scale change far into the future
Conclusion
We made incredible progress toward the goals of the Strategic Plan in 2021 We will meet and exceed many of our quantitative targets, and for the goals where we might fall short, we are approaching the performance level suggested by the goals Moreover, we continue to take action and evolve TPL to further align our work with the Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan, though, is not just a set of integrated activities and goals Behind the plan is an implicit vision for a changed, highly-effective organization that not only delivers great results but creates systems change across the country to improve the lives of all Americans . These deep organizational and system changes are difficult to assess . However, we are having success and are building an organization that will lead our sector for decades to come.
Prepared by: Jeff Danter Shannon Gudal Dashboard by: Linda Hwang Lindsey Withers
QUESTIONS? Visit us at nlc2022@tpl org | ONSITE
SUPPORT Visit us
at the
NLC Concierge Desk,
4th
floor, Thompson Dallas
25
Equity Commitment: In Southern California, TPL is partnering with Pacoima Beautiful and other community groups to address infrastructure, climate resilience, and park needs in the historically underserved, disinvested neighborhood of Pacoima This work was made possible through a $23 million grant
Strategic Plan Initiatives Output Metrics:
Initiative
Overall
Lands
Metric
2020–December
Parks
School-yards
2021
Goal 2020 2021 % Completed
Engage more than 300 communities 300 99 33%
Improve quality of life for more than 85 million people 85M 63.92M 75%
Complete 500 regionally and nationally significant land protection projects, including community forests, national parks and forests, wildlife management areas, and working lands 500 68 51 24%
Permanently protect 1,000,000 acres of land 1,000,000 84,333 107,652 19%
Permanently protect 1,000 miles of rivers and streams 1,000 118 233.9 35%
Empower and engage 200 communities through conservation plans and economic studies for land protection 200 13 2 8%
Secure $900 million annually through a permanent and fully funded Land and Water Conservation Fund to include significant increases in federal and state conservation funding through new and existing sources. 900M 900M n/a 100%
Secure $10 billion in public funding through ballot measures or legislative efforts to support land conservation and climate work of The Trust for Public Land and our partners across the country. 10B 2.33B .226B 26%
Work in 50 cities to advance the 10-minute walk to a quality park 50 26 41 134%
Secure $6 billion in public funding through ballot measures or legislative efforts for parks, green schoolyards, and trails/greenways work of The Trust for Public Land and our partners across the country. 6B .95B .51B 24%
Create 35 new high-quality parks, collaborating with communities through our signature participatory design process. (excludes community schoolyards) 35 10 8 51%
Raise the public’s awareness of the power of parks to strengthen communities through outreach including the 10 Minute Walk campaign, the ParkScore® index, and National Walk to a Park Day. (based on media hits) n/a 133 178 n/a
Open 50 community schoolyards.
Have community schoolyards in the pipeline in 20 school districts, connecting hundreds of thousands of people to nature and to each other and doubling the number of districts currently benefiting from schoolyard transformations.
Inspire 20 school districts to develop district-wide
Complete trail-related work in 50 communities
Complete 96 trail-related projects
Completed trail development/construction projects
Completed land protection projects that protect existing trails or could lead to future trails
Create 20 new commuter trails/greenways
Thompson Dallas | 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234
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Appendix I
Jan 1,
31,
50 8 19 54%
20 9 3 60%
20 2 8 50% Trails
50 37 74%
96 23 22 47%
3 2
20 20
20 0 0 0%
Other potential metrics
Schoolyards # of schoolyards designed to increase vigorous activity levels (they have playgrounds and/or sports courts)
Schoolyards # of schoolyards designed by representative population of community members
Schoolyards # of schoolyards designed to decrease ambient temperatures
Schoolyards # of schoolyards designed to manage stormwater
Schoolyards # of schoolyards designed to include places for mental relaxation
# of cities with new TPL community schoolyards that can deliver extra positive outcomes for:
Schoolyards Health, climate, and equity combined
Schoolyards Vulnerable populations (%s of PoC, low income, pop with less than high school education, pop in linguistic isolation)
Schoolyards Health (rates of mental distress and lack of physical activity) Schoolyards
Schoolyards Park need (%s of public schools and people in high park need areas) Schoolyards
Schoolyards Urban heat (%s of public schools in severe urban heat islands)
Schoolyards Stormwater (impaired streams, combined sewers, consent decrees, % impervious cover)
Schoolyards Education (free and reduced lunch and/or attendance)
Schoolyards # new policies that reference schoolyards and/or outdoor learning
Trails Specifics/breakouts on miles of trails protected or constructed (or future trails)
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Acronym Definition Notes
10MW 10-Minute Walk
10MW P 10-Minute Walk Program
The 10-Minute Walk, also known as the 10- Minute Walk to a Park. This measurement of access occurs across TPL work, analysis, and messaging. TPL has trademarked this term.
The 10-Minute Walk Program refers to a “grass tops” parks-advocacy move ment to ensure that everyone in the United States lives within a ten- minute walk to a high-quality park or green space, focused on engaging Mayors.
ATC Appalachian Trail Conservancy Nonprofit organization
AVP Associate Vice President TPL staff title
BHAC Black History and Culture (sites/program) TPL program and fundraising initiative
C&NN Children and Nature Network Nonprofit organization
CCPE Center for City Park Excellence Internal to TPL
CPA City Parks Alliance Nonprofit organization
DAI Decision-maker, Advisor, Informed TPL decision-making tool
DOD Department of Defense Federal Government department
ECF Equitable Communities Fund TPL program and fundraising initiative
FAST Field Advisory and Support Team TPL team
GSA Green Schoolyards America Nonprofit organization
IMBA International Mountain Biking Association Nonprofit organization
LWCF Coalition Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition Coalition of stakeholders (including TPL) that supports the LWCF
NLC National League of Cities Nonprofit organization
NPCA National Parks and Conservation Association Nonprofit organization
NPF National Parks Foundation Foundation working closely with NPS
NPS National Park Service Federal Government Agency
NRPA National Recreation and Parks Association Nonprofit organization
NSBA National School Boards Association Nonprofit organization
NTHP National Trust for Historic Preservation Nonprofit organization
PNTS Partnership for the National Trails System Nonprofit organization
RCC Reimagining the Civic Commons Nonprofit organization
SCA Student Conservation Association Nonprofit organization
SVP Senior Vice President TPL staff title
R&I Research and Innovation TPL department
SDs State Directors TPL staff
ULI Urban Land Institute Nonprofit organization
USCM United States Conference of Mayors Nonprofit organization
USDM Urban Sustainability Directors Network Nonprofit organization
Thompson Dallas | 205 N Akard St, Dallas, TX 75201 | (469) 320-1234
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Appendix II
A city that surprises. A destination that inspires big ideas.
Host Committee reccommendation:
Top BBQ Joints in Dallas
★ Slow Bone
Whether you order your brisket lean or moist, the hickory smoke and coffee rub combine for a true Texas treat
2234 Irving Blvd Dallas, Texas, 75207
(214) 377-7727
https://slowbone com/
★ Pecan Lodge
This iconic barbecue joint is known for its insanely long lines; but it’s worth the wait .
2702 Main St Dallas, Texas, 75226
(214) 748-8900
https://pecanlodge .com/
★ Off the Bone
A Dallas Texas BBQ favorite serving up the best gourmet barbecue you’ll ever taste
1734 Botham Jean Blvd Dallas, Texas 75215
(214) 565-9551
https://offthebonebarbeque .com/
★ Baby Back Shak
1800 S Akard St Dallas, TX 75215
(214) 428-7427
https://www .babybackshak .com/
Things to Do and See in Dallas
★ Dallas Arboretum
Experience the beauty of the Dallas Arboretum and one of America’s best Pumpkin Festivals
A nationally acclaimed 66-acre display garden features breathtaking floral displays all year long . Nestled on the shores of White Rock Lake, the Dallas Arboretum was named “One of the Most Breathtaking Gardens in the World” by Architectural Digest .
8525 Garland Road Dallas, Texas 75218
https://www .dallasarboretum .org/
Restaurants near Thompson Dallas
★ Catbird
1401 Elm Street Dallas, TX 75201
★ Commons Club
1445 Turtle Creek Blvd Dallas, TX 75207
★ Kessaku Sushi & Sake Lunch
1401 Elm Street, 50th Floor Dallas, TX 75202
★ The Woolworth
1520 Elm Street, Ste 201 Dallas, TX 75201
★ CBD Provisions
1530 Main Street, Ste 100 Dallas, TX 75201
★ Chop House Bruger
1501 Main Street Dallas, TX 75201
★ The Mitchell 1404 Main Street Dallas, TX 75202
★ Elm Street Cask & Kitchen
1525 Elm Street Dallas, TX 75201
Monarch
1401 Elm Street 49th Floor Dallas, TX 75201
Local attractions close to Thompson Dallas Hotel
★ Nasher Sculpture Center (4 minutes away)
2001 Flora Street Dallas, TX 75201
★ Dallas Farmers Market (4 minutes away)
920 S Harwood Dallas, TX 75201
★ Dallas Museum of Art (3 minutes away) 1717 North Harwood Dallas, TX 75201
★ Dallas Aquarium (1 mile away)
1801 N. Griffin St. Dallas, TX 75202
★ Perot Museum of Nature and Science (1 mile away)
2201 N Field St Dallas, TX 75201
WELCOME TO DALLAS!
FOR HELP EXPLORING THINGS TO DO IN DALLAS, see this handy interactive guide: https://bit.ly/3CDSx1U