Recording / Using Data to Address Park Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access

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 & Community Impact Strategist dedicated to helping professionals turn research into practice for community health impact. Russ lives, works, and plays in northern Colorado.

Dr. Palacios is responsible for promoting the value of recreation for people of all ages and abilities. She provides training, 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 2013 after obtaining a 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. She is currently serving as NRPA's Chair of the Conference Program Committee and as a member of the Board of Directors for Dix Park Conservancy. Inés is based out of Raleigh, NC.