KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Dr. Paty Rios, City Design Consultant & “Creative Bridger”
MAYORS ROUNDTABLE
This session will bring together a panel of mayors from across the country to discuss the transformative power of parks and how they are prioritizing parks and green spaces in their visions for more healthy, resilient, equitable and economically competitive cities.
- Moderator: Pam Giganti, veteran newswoman and Emmy-award winning journalist; Host, Your South Florida on PBS.
- Honorable Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor, Miami-Dade County
- Honorable David Holt, Mayor, Oklahoma City, OK
- Rosa Escareño, General Superintendent and CEO, Chicago Park District
PLACEMAKING
The Chattahoochee River Greenway Study: A Catalysts for Fostering Equitable Communities
This session will highlight an urban trail that is blazing a new path and building equitable and resilient communities while creating a common ground for recreation and transportation.
- Nans Voron, Senior Associate, SCAPE Landscape Architecture; Project Manager, The Chattahoochee RiverLands Project
Parks Over Pavement: Re-imaging Highways as Public Spaces
This session will showcase examples of cities that are reconnecting bifurcated communities and restoring spaces once reserved for vehicles by reframing highways as parks.
- Moderator: Grace Perdomo, Executive Director, Transit Alliance Miami
- Tiffani Melake, Operations and Management Advisor, Office of the Waterfront & Civic Projects (OWCP), Seattle, WA
- Tara Green, Principal of Program Development, Office of James Burnett (OJB)
Strengthening Resilience through Parks
This session will focus on park's role in strengthening landscape and community resilience while showcasing exemplary design.
- Moderator: Maria I. Nardi, Director, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces
- Sarah Neilson, Chief of Policy and Long-Range Planning, NYC Parks
- Signe Nielsen, FASLA, Principal, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA)
HEALTH & FITNESS
Creating Equitable Connections Between Children and Nature
This session will explore the critical role that nature plays in a child’s health and wellbeing, and how cities are working to expand access to the outdoors.
- Moderator: Richard Louv, Author & Journalist; Co-Founder and Chair Emeritus, Children and Nature Network
- CJ Goulding, Consultant & Partner, The Avarna Group
- Monica Lopez Magee, Senior Vice President of Cities and Community Engagement, Children and Nature Network
Parks and Pandemics: Their Critical Role in Public Health
This session will highlight the essential role that public parks play in the pandemic and community health.
- Moderator: Kevin Roth, Ph.D., Vice President of Research, Evaluation and Technology, National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)
- Dr. Sadiya Muqueeth, Director of Community Health, Trust for Public Land (TPL)
- Joanna Lombard, AIA, LEED AP, Architect & Professor, University of Miami School of Architecture; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Advancing Youth Sports Programs through Innovative Partnerships
This session will explore the value of partnerships between parks and recreation agencies and professional sports teams, and how these relationships prioritize equitable access to athletic opportunities.
- Moderator: Michael Zimmer, Director of Marketing and Development, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces
- Jack Groh, Director, National Football League (NFL) Environmental Program
- Susan Groh, Assistant Director, National Football League (NFL) Environmental Program
- Sarah Garcia, Director, Marlins Youth Academy, Miami Marlins Foundation
- Cathy Nordlund, Tennis Service Representative, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, United Tennis Association (USTA)
- Aaron Harris, Youth Programs Manager, Miami Dolphins
CONSERVATION
Becoming An Environmental Champion in Your Community
This session will explore the work of environmental champions in addressing one of the most defining issues of our time, climate change and how they are engaging, educating, and empowering their communities.
- Moderator: Caroline Lewis, Founder & Senior Advisor, The CLEO Institute
- Sonia Succar Ferre, Strategic Advisor & South Florida Project Lead, Adrienne Arsht Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center
- Kehkashan Basu, Founder & President, Green Hope Foundation
- Dr. Kilan C. Ashad-Bishop, Steering Committee Member, Miami Climate Alliance
Conservation Through a Holistic Lens
This session will engage several conservationists in discussion on the importance of a holistic approach to successful conservation.
- Moderator: Will Elgar, Director, Zoo Miami
- Dr. Frank Ridgley, Director of Conservation & Research, Zoo Miami
- Dr. Marisa Bezjian, Associate Veterinarian, Zoo Miami
- Dr. Mireya Mayor, Host, Expedition Bigfoot, Travel Channel; Director of Exploration & Science Communication Initiative, Florida International University (FIU); National Geographic Explorer
Art and the Environment
This session will explore the intersection of art and the environment and will showcase an artist whose work generates awareness and action towards issues of global climate change and social justice.
- Moderator: Jennifer Tisthammer, Director, Deering Estate; Chief of Conservation, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces
- Patricia Watts, Artist, Founder and Curator, ecoartspace
- Xavier Cortada, Artist, Professor of Practice, University of Miami Department of Art and Art History; Artist-in-Residence, Pinecrest Gardens
LEAF
Utilizing Miami-Dade County’s Urban Tree Canopy Assessment
Sponsored through a partnership with Neat Streets Miami and American Forests’ Community ReLeaf Initiative and conducted by the University of Florida and Florida International University, the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment focuses on the environmental and socioeconomic impacts from the urban tree canopy (UTC) within the Urban Development Boundary of Miami-Dade County. This update will focus on the findings of the 2021 update (original study completed in 2016)
- Dr. Henry Hochmair, Associate Professor, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (FLREC), University of Florida
Project Highlight: GREEN (Growing Roots for Environmentally Equitable Neighborhoods) Miami-Dade County
One of seven projects chosen nationally by The Funders Network’s Partners for Places Grant in 2021, the GREEN Miami-Dade County pilot aimed to combat food insecurity by building on the work being done within the community by Grow Roots Miami, a QTBIPOC-led food justice collaboration between Finca Morada, Planting Philosophy, and Urban Oasis Project. The Miami Foundation joins Miami-Dade County, through Neat Streets Miami, to target four low-income communities: Overtown, Little Haiti, Liberty City, and North Miami.
- Moderator: Lauren Breckenridge, Special Projects Administrator, Community Forestry & Beautification, Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation & Open Spaces/Neat Streets Miami
- Chelsea Clark, Resilience Officer, The Miami Foundation
- Chris Bouza, Founder, Finca Morada Wild Culture Center; Co-Founder, Grow Roots Miami
- Karina Castillo, Resilience Coordinator II, Miami-Dade County Office of Resilience
