I am one of a few individuals who has been involved since the 1970s in the evolution of the public playground industry safety standards and was co-founder and instructor of the National Recreation and Park Association's (NRPA) National Playground Safety Institute and its internationally recognized Certified Playground Safety Inspector Program. I also am an instructor for the 2 day Playground Maintenance Technician course which offers a Certificate of Completion through Clemson University.

I continue to promote safe challenging public play spaces for all people as; a member of the advisory board for the International Playground Equipment Manufactures Association (IPEMA) Voice of Play, founding member of the U.S. Play Coalition, an NRPA Past President and member of their Ambassador Committee, and Chair of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F15.29 Subcommittee on performance requirements for public play equipment. Also Co-Chair of ASTM Working Group which created the ASTM F3101-15 Standard Specification for Unsupervised Public Use Outdoor Fitness Equipment.

Lloyd Reese has 30 years’ experience in the ideation and development of products serving the play and recreation market. He actively serves on numerous ASTM, CSA, and ISO play related committees and is currently vice chair of ASTM F08.63 Playground surfacing systems. Lloyd is also a founding member of IPEMA and is currently serving his second term as president of that organization, in addition to chairing the IPEMA surfacing certification program and serving on the equipment certification committee.

Lloyd Reese has 30 years’ experience in the ideation and development of products serving the play and recreation market. He actively serves on numerous ASTM, CSA, and ISO play related committees and is currently vice chair of ASTM F08.63 Playground surfacing systems. Lloyd is also a founding member of IPEMA and is currently serving his second term as president of that organization, in addition to chairing the IPEMA surfacing certification program and serving on the equipment certification committee.

Karim Odeh is a Regional Sales Manager for PlayCore's surfacing division. He has been in the recreation industry for over 4 years and is a Certified Instructor for PlayCore's Center for Outreach, Research, and Education, focusing on the Strong Foundations program. He received his Bachelor's degree from Tennessee Technological University in International Business and Cultures.

Inés is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides continuing educational opportunities, professional development, and research that supports recreation and play while generating partnerships and alliances in the field. She joined the PlayCore team in August 2013 after obtaining her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from NC State University. Before joining PlayCore, she was an instructor at NC State University in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department. In addition, she has experience in event planning, program management, research, and national presentations. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.

Jayne Miller is an internationally recognized parks & recreation leader bringing forward innovative approaches in service delivery and community impacts. Her work is especially focused in the urban parks arena advancing park system equitable investment action plans, racial equity action plans, showcasing the work of emerging leaders, and governance, leadership and management best practices.

Jasneet Bains focuses on healthy, equitable land use planning, park equity, transportation justice, and equitable public infrastructure investments through research, technical assistance/training, and policy advocacy. Jasneet lead development of PI’s Park Equity, Life Expectancy, and Power Building Toolkit, which shows research linking parks/green space to life expectancy to support equitable investments in park infrastructure in disinvested communities.

Will is the Project Manager for Parks Research and a member of TPL’s Land and People Lab. He leads TPL’s place-based and national park research projects, focusing on the role of social access to parks as a complement to physical access and the next generation of park data tools. Will also directs and manages TPL’s ParkScore index, an annual ranking of the park systems of the 100 largest US cities. In this role he is responsible for the design and development of technology systems for managing park data and provides research, analysis, and recommendations for improving parks, trails, and open space for park agencies and affiliated organizations. Will received a Master’s degree in Environmental Management with a specialty in Urban Social Ecology from Yale University.

Vanessa Knoppke-Wetzel (she/her) is the Associate Director at GreenInfor Network. She has worked in the federal government, non-profits, tech industry, and higher education. She currently is a Director at Large for the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS), where she chairs the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; an Alumni Mentor for UW-Madison's SuccessWorks; and the 2022 DC Meet Director for Pull for Pride. She also is the founder of #creativeCarto, and one half of URhere podcast.

Vanessa is a detail-oriented cartographer, designer, analyst, educator, and community-builder that loves thinking about how to create and design products and utilize spatial data to tell visual stories in the best way possible. She also cares a lot about cultivating, building, and growing community (anywhere), which has led to her dedicating a lot of her free time in the last decade to giving talks, hosting workshops, and volunteering in the spatial world. She firmly believes everyone can become a better analyst, designer, and storyteller - even if they never have been in the spatial industry.

She also does non-mappy things: you can find her lifting weights, running, or enjoying the outdoors when not doing the above.

Russ has over 20 years of experience as a university Professor in kinesiology and public health, applied researcher, and PlayCore scholar and author of PlayOn! Russ is a passionate speaker on topics of comprehensive health and wellness and a committed champion of research translation and application. He is currently PlayCore’s Research Advisor dedicated to helping professionals turn research into practice for community health impact. Russ lives, works, and plays in northern Colorado.

Inés is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides continuing educational opportunities, professional development, and research that supports recreation and play while generating partnerships and alliances in the field. She joined the PlayCore team in August 2013 after obtaining her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from NC State University. Before joining PlayCore, she was an instructor at NC State University in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department. In addition, she has experience in event planning, program management, research, and national presentations. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.

Brent Derbecker has worked in the private sector recreation industry since 2009 and has completed well over 300 private and public shade environment projects. Mr. Derbecker currently manages shade and shelter projects across the United States, which are fulfilled by over 400 sales partners. Since beginning work at Superior Recreational Products, Brent has received high-level training in recreational product design and development with a main focus on developing shaded spaces. He has a comprehensive understanding of product selection and placement, project management in construction, building department processes and requirements, and has been certified as a Certified Instructor to provide educational opportunities related to shade.

Inés is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides continuing educational opportunities, professional development, and research that supports recreation and play while generating partnerships and alliances in the field. She joined the PlayCore team in August 2013 after obtaining her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from NC State University. Before joining PlayCore, she was an instructor at NC State University in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department. In addition, she has experience in event planning, program management, research, and national presentations. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.

Antoinette was born and raised in the middle Tennessee area.  She received an accounting degree from Middle Tennessee State University and began her professional career with the Tennessee State Parks system as an accountant.  She later moved to Georgia and began working for Georgia State Parks within the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

She has held various positions within DNR, and currently serves as the Grants Program Manager and Alternate State Liaison Officer for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).  She is responsible for selecting and awarding the LWCF grants as well as overseeing the compliance aspect after grant completion.  Some of her proudest career achievements include dispelling camping myths by introducing the first-time camper concept to management, being a part of the team that won the inaugural SCORP Excellence award in 2009 and being a board member of the National Association of State Outdoor Recreation Liaison Officers.

Vonda Martin currently serves as the Park Planner for the City of Greensboro. Collectively, Vonda has 30+ years of experience in the field of Parks and Recreation. Over the years, she has worked in the corporate, non-profit, private, and public sectors. This includes time served as a consultant with North Carolina State University’s (NCSU’s) Recreation Resources Service and Director of the Armfield Civic and Recreation Center in Pilot Mountain, NC. Vonda obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Recreation from Catawba College and a Master of Science in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from NCSU. She is active in the profession as the co-founder of the Women’s LeadHERship Workshop, an advisory committee member of Haw River State Park, a member of NRPA, NCRPA, and Friends of Mountain-To-Sea Trail. She is the first practitioner to be a chapter author, Physical Resource and Environmental Planning for the Management of Parks and Recreation Agencies – 5^th Edition, sponsored by the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) with Brie Hensold.  She is has a passion for improving outdoor recreational opportunities for all, is married to Dale Smith and they live in Chapel Hill.

Shawna currently serves as the Planning and Project Development Division Manager from the City of Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department. In this role, she manage the departmental efforts in the areas of strategic and long-range planning, Capital Improvement Program, Capital Life Cycle Plan, and recreational bond referendums with regards to open space, greenways, trails, parkland and facilities

Shawna completed her undergraduate degree at the University of NC at Wilmington majoring in Political Science with minors in Spanish and International Affairs. Shawna moved to Greensboro a year after completing her undergraduate degree to complete a Masters in Public Affairs at the University of NC at Greensboro.  

Inés is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides continuing educational opportunities, professional development, and research that supports recreation and play while generating partnerships and alliances in the field. She joined the PlayCore team in August 2013 after obtaining her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from NC State University. Before joining PlayCore, she was an instructor at NC State University in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department. In addition, she has experience in event planning, program management, research, and national presentations. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.

Lou Fineberg is Dero’s National Advocacy Accounts Manager. He supports bike advocacy organizations nationwide providing technical training and business programming strategies to help them provide bike parking expertise in their communities. Fineberg was a founder of Bike Pittsburgh and helped lead the organization in multiple roles for a decade. As Bike Pittsburgh’s Business Program Director, he developed a bike friendly business program that integrated consulting services with commuter choice programming, working with companies like Google, Alcoa, and BNY Mellon. Fineberg helped bring attention to Pittsburgh’s cumbersome bike parking regulations that have since been modernized and expanded. He has authored two books – Three Rivers on Two Wheels and Urban Biking Companion – to help bicyclists safely navigate his hometown of Pittsburgh.

Paul is originally from Minneapolis, MN where he also attended College. Paul holds a BA in English and BS in Sociology. He has always been interested in land use, building code, civic engagement and has been a transportation advocate for almost 10 years.

Inés is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides continuing educational opportunities, professional development, and research that supports recreation and play while generating partnerships and alliances in the field. She joined the PlayCore team in August 2013 after obtaining her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from NC State University. Before joining PlayCore, she was an instructor at NC State University in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department. In addition, she has experience in event planning, program management, research, and national presentations. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.

Lou Fineberg is Dero’s National Advocacy Accounts Manager. He supports bike advocacy organizations nationwide providing technical training and business programming strategies to help them provide bike parking expertise in their communities. Fineberg was a founder of Bike Pittsburgh and helped lead the organization in multiple roles for a decade. As Bike Pittsburgh’s Business Program Director, he developed a bike friendly business program that integrated consulting services with commuter choice programming, working with companies like Google, Alcoa, and BNY Mellon. Fineberg helped bring attention to Pittsburgh’s cumbersome bike parking regulations that have since been modernized and expanded. He has authored two books – Three Rivers on Two Wheels and Urban Biking Companion – to help bicyclists safely navigate his hometown of Pittsburgh.

Paul is originally from Minneapolis, MN where he also attended College. Paul holds a BA in English and BS in Sociology. He has always been interested in land use, building code, civic engagement and has been a transportation advocate for almost 10 years.

Inés is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides continuing educational opportunities, professional development, and research that supports recreation and play while generating partnerships and alliances in the field. She joined the PlayCore team in August 2013 after obtaining her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from NC State University. Before joining PlayCore, she was an instructor at NC State University in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department. In addition, she has experience in event planning, program management, research, and national presentations. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.

Andy Bohannon, CPRP, AFO is Parks, Recreation and Facilities Director for the City of Keene, NH. A native of son, Andy grew up in Wheelock Park attending the parks and recreation programs. He began working for the City in 1987 as a youth basketball official, and then worked at the pools, playground program, and as a building supervisor though his college years at Keene State.

Since joining the city on a professional level in 2004, he has increased program offerings, established master plans, created pocket parks, improved the trail system, and created sponsorship opportunities, promoted Keene as a great place to work, stay and play. In 2005, he piloted the CATCH program for the Foundation for Healthy Communities and the success of the program spread to over 100 communities around the state. His work with a local coalition called Advocates for Healthy Youth led to his selection as a recipient of the inaugural President’s Council and Sports Community Leadership Award in 2007. In 2018 he received the NH Recreation and Parks distinguished WINK Tapply Professional Award for his service to the association.  

Eric has been with the Division for nine years and resides in Concord NH with his fiancé Rahkiya and dog Daisy.  While living in NH full time since 2011 he has been continuously exploring all the great recreational opportunities the state has to offer.

He was finally able to land his dream job working for NH State Parks. One of his responsibilities is overseeing the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the State of New Hampshire as designated by the Governor. Since beginning this role Eric has awarded over $12 million to 40 NH local communities for acquisition and development of outdoor recreation.

Eric’s passion for this program has led him to become an executive board member on the National Association of State Outdoor Recreation Liaison Officers (NASORLO), an organization whose primary role is to advocate for the state assistance program for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. As a result of his work at the national level in training and advocacy, he has been awarded the Service to NASORLO Award two consecutive years (2020 and 2021). Whether he is meeting with local communities or congressional members he continues to educate people about the Land and Water Conservation Fund and he is excited to share that with you today which he hopes will lead to you all submitting great grant applications.

Inés is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides continuing educational opportunities, professional development, and research that supports recreation and play while generating partnerships and alliances in the field. She joined the PlayCore team in August 2013 after obtaining her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from NC State University. Before joining PlayCore, she was an instructor at NC State University in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department. In addition, she has experience in event planning, program management, research, and national presentations. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.

Eric has been with the Division for nine years and resides in Concord NH with his fiancé Rahkiya and dog Daisy.  While living in NH full time since 2011 he has been continuously exploring all the great recreational opportunities the state has to offer.

He was finally able to land his dream job working for NH State Parks. One of his responsibilities is overseeing the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the State of New Hampshire as designated by the Governor. Since beginning this role Eric has awarded over $12 million to 40 NH local communities for acquisition and development of outdoor recreation.

Eric’s passion for this program has led him to become an executive board member on the National Association of State Outdoor Recreation Liaison Officers (NASORLO), an organization whose primary role is to advocate for the state assistance program for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. As a result of his work at the national level in training and advocacy, he has been awarded the Service to NASORLO Award two consecutive years (2020 and 2021). Whether he is meeting with local communities or congressional members he continues to educate people about the Land and Water Conservation Fund and he is excited to share that with you today which he hopes will lead to you all submitting great grant applications.

Andy Bohannon, CPRP, AFO is Parks, Recreation and Facilities Director for the City of Keene, NH. A native of son, Andy grew up in Wheelock Park attending the parks and recreation programs. He began working for the City in 1987 as a youth basketball official, and then worked at the pools, playground program, and as a building supervisor though his college years at Keene State.

Since joining the city on a professional level in 2004, he has increased program offerings, established master plans, created pocket parks, improved the trail system, and created sponsorship opportunities, promoted Keene as a great place to work, stay and play. In 2005, he piloted the CATCH program for the Foundation for Healthy Communities and the success of the program spread to over 100 communities around the state. His work with a local coalition called Advocates for Healthy Youth led to his selection as a recipient of the inaugural President’s Council and Sports Community Leadership Award in 2007. In 2018 he received the NH Recreation and Parks distinguished WINK Tapply Professional Award for his service to the association.  

Inés is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides continuing educational opportunities, professional development, and research that supports recreation and play while generating partnerships and alliances in the field. She joined the PlayCore team in August 2013 after obtaining her PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from NC State University. Before joining PlayCore, she was an instructor at NC State University in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department. In addition, she has experience in event planning, program management, research, and national presentations. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.

Anne-Marie joined the PlayCore team in 2002, and is responsible for corporate marketing, communications and special project development for PlayCore, as well as serving as the company spokesperson and coordinator for all brand efforts, including advertising, promotion, trade show design, and external/internal communications. Anne-Marie is committed to building communities through play and recreation by motivating the marketing teams with creativity and encouragement, serving on the Board of Directors at the Chambliss Center for Children.

Anne-Marie is a competitive obstacle course racer, and says “I love the variety, we carry and throw heavy objects, swing from our hands, throw spears, and scale high walls. It allows me to test my fitness and become a more well-rounded athlete and person.”