Accreditation Ready: Area Agencies Lessons Learned
Track: Business Administration

Thursday, April 30th | 10:30 - 11:45am
Speakers: Julie Parascondola, Metro Parks Tacoma; Kristin Stimpson, City of Renton and
Victoria Hollerbach, City of Bellevue
Room: 316


Description:
This session is presented by the three agencies in Washington who are currently accredited:  Bellevue, Renton and Tacoma. This session will first provide a brief overview of the accreditation process and give participants the opportunity to hear from other agencies of three different sizes/structures on how they approached accreditation - benefits received, challenges faced, etc.  For those interested in taking the next steps, please attend the next session at 1:15pm, Accreditation Ready: What Does it Take to Become CAPRA?

Learning Objectives:

  • Participants will learn more about the CAPRA national accreditation process in general.
  • Participants will learn more about the best practices/standards accreditation requires an agency to meet.
  • Participants will leave with a good understanding whether your agency is ready for national accreditation.

Speaker Bio: Julie Parascondola, Metro Parks Tacoma

Julie has worked at Metro Parks Tacoma for 17 years; currently serving as Regional Parks Manager for the Department of Parks and Natural Resources.   She is an active, CAPRA Visit Chair and is also serving her second term as a CAPRA Commissioner representing NRPA on the 15-Member National CAPRA Board.  She has mentored several agencies, led as a Visit Chair, Commission Lead or Second over 36 agencies through accreditation and helped re-write the recently updated 2014 CAPRA standards.  In 2014, Julie led Metro Parks Tacoma through their first national accreditation with 100% of standards met. Julie is a graduate of Marketing and Revenue School, Executive Development School and Director’s School and is a Certified Park and Recreation Professional.  She is currently pursuing her degree in Public Sector Leadership at North Carolina State University.

Co-speaker Bio: Kristine Stimpson, City of Renton

Kris has worked at the City of Renton for 17 years. She previously worked for the Cities of Mercer Island and Mountlake Terrace in the Recreation Departments.  Kris was instrumental in the planning and operation of the Henry Moses Aquatic Center, organizing Renton’s first off-leash dog park and was the project manager for the City of Renton’s reaccreditation in 2011.  She is a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional and is currently the Recreation Director for the City of Renton.

Co-speaker Bio: Victoria Hollerbach, City of Bellevue

Victoria has worked in various capacities in the field of parks & recreation since the age of 13, working at numerous community centers, events and athletic fields around Seattle. After obtaining her BA from the University of Washington, in 1992, she began working full time in the field after accepting a Coordinator position with the City of Bellevue.  Since that time, she has worked in various positions in Bellevue from Coordinator to Community Center Director. She obtained her Master in Public Administration (MPA) from Seattle University in 1998.   In 2003 Victoria was approached by management to take charge of the Accreditation of the Department and the Gold Medal Award application process. After successfully obtaining both prestigious honors in 2005, she has been in charge of City’s Accreditation project as well as special projects for the Department. Most recently working on Bellevue’s award winning (National League of Cities) Diversity Plan in 2014 and Bellevue’s re-accreditation, slated for the summer 2015.