January 2024 - Parks & Recreation - 12

WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION
NRPA Welcomes Newly Appointed Members
to 2023-2024 Board of Directors
T
he NRPA Board of Directors reflects the organization's membership,
which includes professional and advocate leaders in the park
and recreation movement; park and recreation agencies and organizations
representing the public, private, voluntary, commercial
and industrial sectors; firms supplying park and recreation products and
services; and individuals and civic groups interested in the park, recreation,
conservation, health and equity fields. In addition to the board members
selected via the application process, the chair of the board is able to nominate
additional members to be elected. This year, we welcome three new
chair-nominated members to the 2023-2024 NRPA Board of Directors.
Samuel Assefa
Director, Governor's Office of
Planning and Research
Sacramento, California
Samuel Assefa serves as the director
of California's Governor's
Office of Planning and Research
(OPR), appointed by Governor
Gavin Newsom in September
2021. OPR is the state's primary
comprehensive planning agency,
providing policy guidance to state
agencies and local governments,
with a focus on land use, community
development,
climate
resilSamuel
Assefa serves as
the director of California's
Governor's Office of
Planning and Research.
12 Parks & Recreation |
ience and economic development.
Under Assefa's leadership, OPR
has tripled its programs and initiatives
in just two years, managing an
annual budget of $1.5
billion across various
divisions, including
the California Strategic
Growth Council,
Office of Community
Partnership and Strategic
Communications,
California Volunteers,
Governor's
Military Council, and
the Integrated Climate
Adaptation and Resiliency
Program, among others.
Assefa also chairs the California
Strategic Growth
comprising
seven
state
inducted into Lambda Alpha International
in 2006 and has served as
a board member of the American
Institute of Architects, the Graham
Foundation and more. He is also
a founding member of the Center
for Art and Public Life at California
College of the Arts, where he
served as an adjunct professor of
architecture. Additionally, he is a
member of the Mayor's Institute
on City Design Resource Team.
Assefa frequently shares his exCouncil,
agency
secretaries
working to promote
climate-smart communities and infrastructure
development. He was
recently appointed to the California
Military Council by Governor
Newsom, tasked with enhancing
collaboration between local governments
and the U.S. military on
land use, climate resilience and
statewide energy policies.
Prior to his role at OPR, Assefa
served as the director of the Seattle
Office of Planning and Community
Development from 2016 to
2021. His extensive career includes
positions such as senior urban designer
for City of Boulder, director
of land use and planning for Chicago's
Department of Planning and
Development, deputy chief of staff
for Economic and Physical Development
for former Chicago Mayor
Richard M. Daley, and director of
special projects for the San Francisco
Planning Department.
Throughout his career, Assefa
has been actively involved in civic
and design organizations. He was
J ANUAR Y 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
pertise as a speaker at various forums
and conferences, including
the Urban Land Institute, CityAge,
the American Planning Association
and international symposiums,
including the Toronto
Tall Buildings Symposium and the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development. He
has lectured at prestigious universities,
such as Harvard Graduate
School of Design, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) Department
of Urban Studies, and
Cornell Department of City and
Regional Planning.
Assefa holds a Master of City
Planning from MIT and a Bachelor
of Arts in architecture from the
University of Illinois at Chicago.
Rick Atkins
Director, City of Round Rock
Parks and Recreation
Round Rock, Texas
Rick Atkins is the director of the
parks and recreation department
with the City of Round Rock. He
attended Texas Tech University
and received a bachelor's degree in
January 2024 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2024 - Parks & Recreation
