Ronald D. Lehman currently serves as a Commissioner at the Channahon Park District where he has served for over 43 years.  Under his term, the Channahon Park District earned the coveted NRPA Gold Medal Grand Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management in 1997.  Ron has also served the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) for over 12 years; serving as Chairman of NRPA for six years and as Trustee for six years. He also has served as President of the Illinois Association of Park Districts Board of Directors, with 10 years of service on the Board, and as Chairman of the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission for 5 years.

Donald Jessen is a 30+ year veteran of volunteer service to Parks and Recreation serving in various volunteer and elected leadership positions.  He is an advocate for parks and recreation on a legislative level and is often seen lobbying on behalf of parks and recreation at the state and national level.  He has served as an Ambassador to Parks and Recreation in Japan. He is currently the Chair of the Addison Park District Foundation.

Mark McKinnon has nearly 40 years’ experience in parks and recreation administration, programming and facility management in the Chicago metropolitan area.  From 2006 through 2015, Mark served as the Executive Director of the Addison Park District and previously held positions with the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District and the Orland Park Recreation Department.  Today, Mark is the CEO of Recreation Executive Consultants (REC), a consulting firm focusing on managing strategic and comprehensive plans, executive searches and staff teambuilding.  He and his wife, Kathy, live in Bloomingdale, Illinois and are the proud parents of 3 great adults—one of which followed Mark into a career in parks and rec management.

Wynns served as the Director of Indy Parks, Indianapolis, IN from 2000 to 2008 leading Indy Parks to the level of national finalist for the Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management in 2005, ’06 and ’07.   Concurrently, Wynns served on the Board of Directors of the National Recreation and Park Association (NAPA) Board of Directors from 2004 – 2011 during which time Wynns served on the Outdoor Resources Review Group (ORRG), a national bipartisan advisory panel with honorary co-chairs Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Jeff Bingaman. His work was presented to President Barack Obama’s Administration (Department of Interior) documenting the need for parks, outdoor recreation, open space and related issues.

Mark Young has worked an administrator in the field of parks, recreation and natural resources for more than 30 years, serving the cities of Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana and Columbus, Ohio. Mark provides consulting services with Parks Forever Consulting in Louisville, KY. He is an advisor to the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University.

Mark has held a variety of volunteer leadership positions. He served a nine year term on the board of directors for the National Recreation and Park Association, including chair of the public policy committee. He served on the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association Board of Directors for six years. Mark also serves on the Falls of the Ohio Foundation Board of Directors. 

Carolyn McKnight Fredd served as the Superintendent of the nationally acclaimed Baton Rouge Recreation Commission (BREC) from 2012 to 2019. Previously Carolyn served in administration positions with the City of Dallas Parks & Recreation, including managing the department’s $55 million dollar operating budget, implementing the long-range strategic plan, and directing the policies of the Park Board.  Carolyn honorably served her nation and the state of Texas in the United States Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard for a total of 29 years. In 2001, she was appointed as the 136th Mission Support Group Commander and in 2002 was promoted to the rank of Colonel where she directed and led 450 troops. Carolyn currently serves on the NRPA Board of Directors Executive Committee and is a past president of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. Carolyn resides in the Dallas, TX area and is a member of the Eagle Management Consulting team. 

Sara Hensley joined the City of Denton in May 2019 as the Assistant City Manager, was promoted to Deputy City Manager in July 2020, and is currently serving as Interim City Manager. Hensley brings with her more than 23 years of public service and leadership experience to the position. Hensley most recently served as the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Austin and served as Interim Assistant City Manager for two years. She led large-scale teams in multiple program and service areas and operations, served as the executive lead for several citywide cross-departmental efforts, and had frequent interaction with elected officials, community stakeholders, and residents.

Hensley holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Education from the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of the Executive Development Program at Indiana University. Prior to her recent roles with the City of Austin, Sara was the Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Phoenix, Arizona; Director of Neighborhood Services, Animal Services and Parks and Recreation for the City of San Jose, California; and the Director of Parks and Recreation for City of Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

Katie Rictor is the Executive Director for the Montgomery County Parks Foundation located in Maryland. She is responsible for promoting the values and benefits of the Montgomery County park system throughout the region and helping connect various stakeholders to support the success of its local parks. Over her 14-year career, Rictor has helped raise over $20 million dollars for various non-profits around the country. She has championed everything from early childhood education to preserving Italian-American culture. Before joining Montgomery County Parks, Rictor worked with USA Field Hockey to raise funding to support the Olympic field hockey team. She is passionate about marrying the desires of the donor with the needs of the organization.

Additionally, she currently serves as the Past President of the Western Maryland Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has worked to help enhance member benefits, identify leaders in the field to provide members with professional development programming, and work to grow the chapter’s membership retention efforts .In her spare time, Rictor enjoys exploring the 412 parks scattered throughout Montgomery County and occasionally enjoys performing improv with a local comedy troupe.

Michael Clark, CPRP, is currently the Executive Director of the Palatine Park District, IL and has served in that capacity for the past 10 years. He was previously the Executive Director of Batavia Park District for the 12 years prior. Mike is an inductee into the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and an active member with the National Recreation and Park Association as well as the Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA).

Mike is a past Fellow Award recipient with IPRA and recently awarded the Honored Professional Award from the Illinois Association of Park Districts. Mike has served as the staff liaison and advisor to the Palatine Park Foundation and assisted in development of a revised scholarship program locally for families in financial stress. He has also served as Chairman of the Illinois Park and Recreation Foundation (IPRF) for the past 10 years assisting with tremendous growth and impact for the state association. Mike was recently awarded with the first ever Chairman’s Award from the IPRF and IPRA.

Anthony Iracki, MS, CPRP is the Education and Events Manager at mParks (Michigan Recreation & Park Association), is a purpose-driven park and recreation professional from Milwaukee Wisconsin. Having worked in the field since the age of 14 he is passionate about community engagement, innovative programming, and equity in parks and recreation. Alongside his commitment to his community, he is active in the growth and development of park and recreation professionals and agencies through volunteer work, network leadership positions, speaking engagements, podcasting, and authoring articles related to the field. Anthony is the recipient of the 2020 NRPA Robert W. Crawford Young Professional of The Year Award, The 2020 Ferris State University Alumni Pacesetter Award, The 2019 American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration Externship, the 2018 WPRA Recreation Section Young Professional of The Year Award, The 2017 WPRA Presidents Award, The 2016 NRPA Young Professional Fellowship.

Steven Pratapas is president of Pratapas Associates, LLC, a fundraising consulting firm established in 2002 and committed to providing practical solutions and customized services for fundraising campaigns, capacity building, interim leadership and executive search, and board/volunteer leadership development programs to not-for-profit agencies. Steve is a seasoned CEO with over 40 years of experience leading not-for-profit organizations. He is a visionary and strategic leader with a proven ability to assess organizational needs, improve market reach, significantly grow revenue streams, and build strong board, volunteer, and staff teams.

Mr. Pratapas is pragmatic and results-oriented, able to work with diverse groups, communities, and professionals. His specific skills and experiences include planning and execution of successful Capital and Endowment Campaigns; Major Gift Cultivation; development and execution of Capacity Building Plans; Board Governance and Volunteer Leadership Development programs; Executive Search; Strategic Planning; group training and facilitation; mentoring, coaching, and building high performing staff, board, and volunteer teams.