Wednesday, 9/17/2025 from 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM EST (Education Block 3)

Room: W203

Topic(s):
Accreditation, Data and Evaluation, Funding, Planning and Design, 2025 Conference Theme: Build Together, Play Together

Description:
Some things are best to do with in-house staff, and some things would be better to do with the help of consultants. Learn from Teresa Penbrooke, Ph.D., CPRE, a long-time park and recreation professional, educator and consultant for more than 25 years. After years of working for public park and recreation agencies and hiring consultants, Penbrooke founded GreenPlay in 1999 and was CEO for 23 years. In 2018, she literally helped “write the book” on park and recreation master planning. In 2022, GreenPlay merged with another firm. In 2024, Penbrooke quit consulting, shifting full focus to education, research, convenings and nonprofit management as executive director for ActivEnviro, in alliance with NRPA and other professional associations. This session identifies your agency needs relative to real budgets and staffing constraints, how to get them done, and plans and projects that consultants can do (or not), along with what is needed for CAPRA evidence and funding opportunities. You’ll get a template to help you figure out which plans you need to be completed to be effective. You’ll also learn what good consultants look for when choosing to respond (or not) to a request for proposal (RFP) and receive a sample RFP template for a typical plan. Come save yourself time and money by learning from a long-time pro who now wants to teach you.

Learning Objectives:

1. Attendees will learn to identify the types of plans and projects that can be done well by consultants and which elements should be done by in-house staff.

2. Attendees will discuss common and potential challenges, ideal methods for project management, and strategies to use to help your organization and their daily life run better.

3. Attendees will distinguish between what consultants will or won’t respond to in an RFP, how to budget effectively, and what to include if you want a quality response.

Speaker(s):
Teresa Penbrooke