OUR MISSION

Green Spaces for DC fosters stewardship and improves the quality of parks and open spaces through advocacy; development and strengthening organizational capacity; and establishing partnerships and networks that share information and resources.

OUR VALUES

Advancing park and green space improvements through facilitating implementation of the Capital Space Plan. Coordinating with Capital Space partners (e.g. DC Parks and Recreation, Office of Planning, Department of the Environment, Department of Transportation, National Capital Planning Commission, and National Park Service). Facilitating partnerships between public agencies and the community.

OUR TEAM

YaVonne Boyd

Executive Director

YaVonne Boyd is an organizational leadership consultant with over 20 years of community-based and public health experience. She has extensive experience through her professional career and volunteer work in addressing health disparities. Her deep passion is being vested in the community as a native Washingtonian who is focused on improving the health and environmental awareness for under resourced residents. Mrs. Boyd holds a BA in sociology, a master’s degree in organizational leadership and is currently matriculating through her doctoral dissertation in the field of organizational leadership. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Steven Feingold has been working to improve urban green spaces for 15 years.  He spent 7 years volunteering with the North Carolina Botanical Gardens in both their formal plantings and natural areas in Chapel Hill, NC. Since moving to DC in 2013, he became a Weed Warrior at Fort Totten Park and organized Casey Trees plantings at Fort Totten and Grant and Sherman Circles. He has been a park partner with DPR working to enhance green spaces in his neighborhood of Petworth since 2016 . This work led him to start Petworth Blooms in 2018 and to join with GSDC as a partner in that effort. He holds a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering from UNC-Chapel Hill and works in manufacturing automation for the Biotech industry.

Norman Hawkins is Property Manager at Park Triangle Apartment Lofts & Flats, which is located at the 14th Street Civic Plaza. Norman is chair of the Civic Plaza Partners management group. Norman his commercial real estate career over 15 years ago.  As a native Washingtonian, his early career as Senior Financial Analyst was with a multi-billion-dollar pension fund advisor based out of Seattle, Washington.  He managed all facets of commercial real estate, honing his experiences on full service commercial real estate deals. In 2012 his career path broaden by adding Property Management to the list of his real estate accomplishments.  As a Property Manager of a Class A luxury apartment building in DC, he has rooted himself in the community.  This opportunity has allowed him to find his voice by enriching the community in which he lives and works.  His goals are to constrict the equal housing disparity gap for all DC residents and increase the quiet enjoyment for them as well. 

John Henderson: President and Executive Director of Green Spaces for DC is a District of Columbia resident with over 23 years of experience in parks and recreation, including twelve years with the Chicago Park District and eleven with The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. John is certified as a parks and recreation executive, city planner, public participation practitioner, arbitrator and mediator. He is an attorney licensed to practice law in Illinois and the District of Columbia. John holds a Juris Doctor degree from The John Marshall Law School, a Bachelors in Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati and a Certificate in Public Performance Measurement from Rutgers University. He is a member of Leadership Washington Class of 2004, Lambda Alpha International, the national society for advanced land economics, and the Board of the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies, the national park and recreation accrediting organization. 

Ana Ka'ahanui is co-founder of Capital Nature and an experienced tour leader for sustainability-based projects. She has worked at the U.S. Green Building Council since 2003 in various capacities that connect people to the green world. Currently on the Marketing and Communications team, she manages projects, curates digital assets and serves as the staff photographer. She manages USGBC'S public tour program and has led over 800 tours of their LEED Platinum headquarters. Ana is passionate about the built environment as a teaching tool. Ana joined Capital Nature's Biophilic DC project in 2017. She has been supporting media and outreach development for the initiative and leads its web team. She is a member of the collaborative Regional Citizen Science Steering Committee. Ana is committed to connecting people to nature in the DC region. She is a recent graduate of the Virginia Master Naturalist program and participates in and promotes local citizen science activities. 

Brian Rodgers: Mr. Rodgers is an experienced project and program coordinator and manager with a proven record of initiative and creativity in program development and management. As native and Ward 7 resident, Washingtonian, he is familiar with and worked to improve both the environmental and workforce issues facing the District. After meetings with DOEE staff, Mr. Rodgers was asked to develop a new workforce development element for the RiverSmart Homes. and is the current program manager for the second Rain Barrel Installation grant funded by the Department of Energy and Environment. Before working on this project, Mr. Rodgers was employed with one of the leading non-profit organizations in land restoration and reclamation projects in DC parks and the DC community, Washington Parks & People. Mr. Rodgers is a graduate of the Watershed Steward Academy (2015), Master Gardener (2002) and was awarded for his work with the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services Outstanding Business Person of the Year Award (2015) He also participated in the Mayor’s Sustainability Committees, helping to shape the District’s policies and strategies for the future. Mr. Rodgers is a graduate of Denison University in Granville, with a BA in Political Science. 

Kathy Reilly: Kathy is an urban planner with over 25 years of public sector planning experience with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Her public-sector experience includes: regulatory reviews of master plans, zoning, land use, transportation, historic preservation, and environmental issues for compatible infill development in established neighborhoods and communities. Kathy has extensive community engagement experience as her planning work involves public speaking and presentations to local officials and community groups. A 35-year resident of the District of Columbia, Kathy has an undergraduate degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from George Washington University. She is a member of American Planning Association, (National Capital Area Chapter), American Institute of Certified Planners, Lambda Alpha International, Urban Land Institute and the National Building Museum, where she served as a docent. 

Stella Tarnay is an urban planner with over 25 years of experience in sustainability innovation and green building. She has worked in the public sector establishing green building programs at the local government level in Washington DC and Arlington County, VA, and leading civic and private sector initiatives that support sustainable, equitable communities. In 2014 she and a group of like-minded advocates founded Biophilic DC, a project to bring the benefits of nature-based experience into urban policy and architectural practice. The District now has an active cross-agency Biophilic working group, and is a leading member in the Biophilic Cities Network. Stella has served as adjunct faculty in GWU’s Sustainable Landscape Design Program and at Boston Architectural College, and has written articles for Urban Land magazine and other publications. She holds a Bachelors in City and Regional Planning from the University of Virginia, and completed her graduate studies in City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. Stella is a steering committee member of the Biophilic Cities Network. 

Carol Truppi: Carol possesses design, planning and project management expertise with a national perspective and recognition on hundreds of projects in land development, urban planning and design services at the regional, neighborhood and individual site levels. With a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Design, Carol has a results-oriented focus on balancing the redevelopment of existing communities with the protection of the natural, historic and cultural landscapes. Carol is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and an Accredited Professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED AP), a certified planner with the American Planning Association, a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and National Charrette Institute Public Meeting Facilitator.

N’kosi Yearwood is a community planner with the Montgomery County Planning Department. Since 2000, N’kosi has participated and created comprehensive transit-oriented and mixed-use plans for the Shady Grove and White Flint Metro Station areas. He is currently the project manager for the White Flint 2 Sector Plan. He has also created zoning standards for transit areas and reviewed private and public development, including Pike & Rose, Shady Grove Station (Montgomery County Service Park redevelopment), and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) for Walter Reed at Bethesda Naval Hospital. His education includes architectural history and architecture from the University of Maryland, College Park and University of Cincinnati. He is a resident in the City of Hyattsville; a member of Lambda Alpha International; and a 2014 graduate of Urban Land Institute (ULI) Washington Regional Land Use Institute.

 

Advisory Board

Maria Barry, Co-Founder: Maria is the Director of Community Relations for American University. Before this, she served as the Vice-President of External Relations at Potomac Riverkeeper and was the Chief Development Director at Green Door Behavioral Health. During her career, Maria has served as an Executive Director Partnership, Development Officer, Field Director, and Director of Special Events and Communications.

Hazel Ruth Edwards, Ph.D.: Dr. Edwards’ career has combined place-based research with planning and urban design practice and teaching. She is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and was elected to their College of Fellows (FAICP) in 2018. She was inducted into Lambda Alpha International (land economics honor society) in 2001. Hazel taught in the graduate planning program in the Institute of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University (1999-2007) before joining the School of Architecture and Planning faculty at The Catholic University of America in 2007. In 2016 she joined the College of Engineering and Architecture at Howard University as Professor and Chair of the Department of Architecture. In 2021 Dr. Edward was nominated for appointment by President Biden to the US Fine Arts Commission.

Jane Meacham works as a freelance writer, researcher and editor specializing in financial services and corporate sustainability topics. She has served as a consultant for the World Bank and International Finance Corp., among other clients, and also edits retirement plan administration trade publications.  

Jane previously worked as a contract research analyst for the nonprofit Sustainable Investments Institute, reporting on activist shareholder proposals at companies whose stock is held by the largest-endowed private U.S. colleges and universities. She also was as a research analyst at RiskMetrics Group Inc., reviewing the sustainability activities of public companies for institutional investors. Earlier, Jane worked for nearly 20 years in Asia and the United States as an editor and newsroom manager for Dow Jones & Co., the international business information publishing company.

Brenda Richardson, Co-Founder: Ms. Richardson is an eco-feminist who has been working on welfare reform, environmental justice, economic development, education, behavioral health, and health issues for the past 30 years. Brenda currently serves as the President of Chozen Consulting, LLC, a consulting company that focuses on community engagement, facilitation, training, and government relations. Brenda is the Principal for “Women Like Us,” an initiative that focuses on design thinking for women and the Vice-Chair of the Friends of Oxon Run Park. She also facilitates the Police Service Area 702 Outreach Committee where she works in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police Department. She serves as the Chair of the Friends of Parkland Turner Library and an Advisory Board member to Capital Nature. She is a member of the Urban Forestry Advisory Council.

Autumn Saxton-Ross, Ph.D. Co-Founder: Ms. Saxton-Ross, is the VP for Education & Chief Equity Officer at the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA). She started her career as an elementary school Health and PE teacher in DC Public Schools and after receiving graduate degrees in Health Education and Sociology, has worked in various positions that placed her at the intersections of health, equity, and the outdoors. Most recently, as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director and Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Lead for NatureBridge, and prior to that, she held positions as the Program Director for Place-based Initiatives at the National Collaborative for Health Equity, Program Specialist at DC Department of Health and (Health) Recreation Specialist at both Montgomery County and DC Departments of Recreation.

Glenn Smith: Smith is Founding Partner of the landscape and urban design firm PUSH studio, LLC based in Washington, DC.  He has built an urbanism career inspired by the intersection of landscape architecture and architecture.  Focusing on the unique characteristics of sites and communities, Smith has built a thirty-five year career in private, public and academic practice.  His work has included community and regional park design and planning, waterfront, zoo, theme park, housing, and community design projects.

In addition to his current PUSH studio practice he has also worked for national firms such as EDAW – San Francisco (now AECOM), Royston/Hanamoto/Alley/Abey, HOK, and Stull + Lee Architects.  Smith began his career as a landscape architect with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Vicksburg, Mississippi District preparing 5-year recreational master plans.  As an academic he has served as Chairman of two landscape architecture departments, Florida A& M University and Morgan State University.  Other teaching assignments have included University of Michigan, City College of New York, Columbia University, and Rutgers University. He holds an undergraduate (BLA) degree from Mississippi State University and a graduate (MLA) degree from The University of Michigan, both in landscape architecture.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and Forum for Urban Design – New York City. 


GSDC ON PARKS AND HEALTH

Maria Barry of Green Spaces for DC talks about the role of small friends groups and the challenges DC faces as a result of the dual federal and local interests in parkland.

Autumn Saxton-Ross, of Green Spaces for DC in Washington, DC, talks about the connection between the trails, recreation and transportation communities, and the public health world.