The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy Board of Trustees has chosen an employee who led the nonprofit’s development and communication departments to become its new executive director.
Catie Stephenson, 37, will take over from Beth Downing, the conservancy’s chief financial officer now serving as interim director.
The departure in March of Stephanie Crockatt, executive director for nine years, to take a position in Sarasota, Fla., led to a national search in June to find her successor. The search process resulted in 29 applications and two finalists.
Stephenson will start her new job on Jan. 2.
Since 2017, Stephenson has been involved in leadership roles in fundraising, communications, community engagement, advocacy and diversity. She was associate director for communications at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo before coming to the conservancy.
“We could not be more pleased that our thorough, nationwide search led us back to the excellence of our own offices,” said Board Chair Bart Kresse, who was also on the search committee. “Catie knows our organization through and through, has the respect of our staff and board, and fully understands the opportunities and challenges ahead in stewarding Buffalo’s amazing parks.”
The conservancy oversees the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks and parkway system in Buffalo, the first in the nation.
Riverside, Delaware, Front, Martin Luther King Jr., Cazenovia and South parks fall under conservancy management, along with seven parkways and eight circles.
The organization has an annual budget of $6.1 million. It employs 35 full-time and 80 seasonal workers in the parks.
“I am absolutely delighted, honored, and excited to move into this role,” Stephenson, who is on maternity leave, said in a statement. “Thanks to my experience with the conservancy, advocating for parks and public spaces has become my passion. Doing this work in Buffalo, my beloved hometown, has become…
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