CONFERENCE SESSION BLOCK 2

• Session 2B
• Session 2C
• Session 2D
• Session 2E
• Session 2F
• Session 2G

Welcoming and Including Community Members Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing 

Description: 

Recreation and parks departments are experts at building community through their programs and amenities. Deaf and Hard of Hearing community members are a significant segment of the community at constant risk of being isolated from the community at large. At roughly 10-15% of the population, almost everyone knows someone with hearing differences. By age 65 that number goes up to 30% and over age 75 to 50%. Between their own experience, popular beliefs, and media depictions of this population, most people expect communicating with them to be challenging and frustrating. Common beliefs about how to accommodate this group are ineffective and exhausting. Without specific training on simple but counter-intuitive techniques that are effective, interactions with this community very often lead those with hearing differences to choose isolation over inclusion. This presentation will help you develop new understanding and instincts about this community and about sound, vision, and communication. You will also learn effective strategies, protocols, supportive services, and technology available to not only include, but also welcome this community. Providing welcoming and inclusive access benefits those at risk of isolation, and it also benefits Parks and Recreation professionals providing direct services through techniques and supports that create effective and comfortable interactions with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community.

Presented by: 

Joel Bergsbaken, Associate Director, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, and Lead Advocate

Biography: Joel Bergsbaken is an Associate Director for the Hearing Speech and Deaf Center, with locations in Bellingham, Seattle, and Tacoma. With a background in Rehabilitation Counseling for the Deaf/Deaf Studies and Linguistics, he has over 30 years of experience providing supportive services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities in vocational, rehabilitation, educational, counseling and advocacy settings. He has provided hundreds of presentations on this subject matter for local organizations and groups, as well as State and National Conferences.

Rosa Caldwell, Recreation Coordinator, Bellingham Parks & Recreation

Biography: Rosa Caldwell is a Recreation Coordinator for the City of Bellingham's Parks and Recreation department. She develops programs for community members of all ages and abilities. Rosa is dedicated to fostering community partnerships, creates community program policies, secures funding through grants and sponsorships, and manages large events. Rosa takes a grassroots approach to networking in greater Whatcom County and is pleased to be able to co-host this speaker session with community partner, Rose Kular, to showcase strong relationship building between Bellingham Parks and Recreation and local Sikh community members.

Learning Objectives

1. Attendees will learn effective strategies, protocols, supportive services, and technology available to welcome and include community members who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. 
2. Attendees will be able to create effective and comfortable interactions with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community.
3. Attendees will develop new understandings about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.

The Nature & Health Connection in Action

Description: 

A large and growing body of scientific literature demonstrates that contact with nature leads to measurable psychological and physiological health benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic put this connection on full display. Parks and greenspace are an essential asset to public health. The nature and health connection is widely accepted, but the positive impacts have been harder to quantify, which in turn makes it harder for parks professionals to plan and act with health impacts in mind. This presentation will explore how big data and machine learning are being used to map and quantify the health-supporting natural elements of any location. Attendees will see how actionable data can be used to improve the public health impacts of community parks and greenspace, such as forecasting the health impacts of adding tree canopy cover and other GIS applications.

Presented by: 

Russell Clark, Account Executive, PlanIT Geo

Biography: Russell has worked in all aspects of the tree care industry for the last 10 years and is a Board Certified Master arborist and Tree Risk Assessment qualified. He has a Bachelors in Plant Pathology from the University of Maine and a Graduate Certificate in urban forestry from Oregon State University, where he focused on the underrepresentation of Certified Arborists in tree care management for university campuses.

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize how the complex impacts of nature exposure on public health are being distilled into actionable data through machine learning. 
2. Discuss how this information can focus urban greening efforts where it can create the greatest public health impacts.
3. Demonstrate how data sets can be incorporated into planning tools to track the impacts of urban nature investment on public health outcomes.
   

Creating Equity Through Chosen Names and Affirming Gender Identities

Description: 

During this workshop, participants will gain an understanding of the importance of honoring and respecting chosen names and gender identities with a specific focus on why this matters for youth. Participants will learn to recognize and adopt behaviors that make environments more welcoming and affirming to LGBTQ+ youth and the importance of these behaviors in preventing suicide and promoting wellbeing in young people. Participants will have time to practice using a variety of personal pronouns and will leave with recommendations and take-home tips. This session will introduce LGBTQ+ terminology, help you to recognize and adopt behaviors that make environments more welcoming and affirming to LGBTQ+ people, and gain an understanding of why this matters (suicide prevention).

Presented by: 

Aiden Sanders, Director of Operations, Spectrum Center Spokane

Biography: Aiden Sanders (they/them) is a queer schemer & dreamer, a graduate of JustLead Washington's Leadership Academy, and the Director of Operations at Spectrum Center. Aiden is passionate about facilitating learning and growth as well as improving programs and systems for the people who work and move within them, led by the belief that it's the people who ultimately matter. Originally from Oregon, Aiden attended Portland State University where they received a B.A. in Liberal Studies. Outside of their work, Aiden is a poet and nonfiction writer who writes to learn, feel, synthesize, and express. They enjoy visiting the river, laughing, reading, and various other diversions.

Learning Objectives

1. Be able to understand and use basic LGBTQ+ terminology.
2. Recognize and adopt behaviors that make environments more welcoming and affirming to LGBTQ+ people.
3. Be able to recognize and use a variety of personal pronouns.

Everybody Plays: A Best Practice Guide to Multigenerational Design

Description: 

As our population continues to age, communities must continue to stay livable and usable to all because the reality is we're designing these communities for our future selves. According to the World Health Organization, by 2050, 2 billion people will be over the age of 60. Everybody Plays takes a look at the evolution of our aging population and age-integration trends. We will address the necessity of creating spaces that all ages can share and the benefits those provide. Specifically, we will take a look at how intentionally-designed parks contribute to healthy lifestyles both physical and mental; can keep users engaged in society through all points in their lifespan thus reducing isolation in older adults; meeting the needs of younger children; and providing engaging challenge for all stages of life through healthy age integration and recreation variety. Everybody Plays addresses how we are able to design everything from our facilities to our playgrounds to create an experience that encourages all to participate. Through best practice design elements, we can create park and play spaces that go beyond access but provide enriching and engaging experiences for all so that we can continue to learn from each other, combat ageist beliefs, and most importantly - allow everybody to play.

Presented by: 

Jill Moore, Inclusive Play Specialist, Landscape Structures

Biography: Jill Moore works with the LSI team in adding user voice within product development, as well as inclusive design practices. With a specific focus on merging lived experience with universal design principles, Jill promotes and educates on integrating inclusion in play, and bringing people with disabilities into the conversation. As an accredited educational presenter both in the classroom and the playground, play has become her full-time role. During her lifetime, she has represented Team USA as a multi-sport athlete, bringing perspective on the importance of the formative role of recreation and how imperative equitable access to play is for all.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the necessity of intergenerational spaces and their importance in all communities as our population ages.
2. Identify the benefits of escaping ageist beliefs and promoting an active societal contribution using shared sites.
3. Best practice design elements to support multi-generational park design with a focus on fitness experience, engaging with nature, playable art, functional facilities, and the play space itself.

A Reimagined Riverfront Chapter 1: The Journey, Lessons Learned, Inspirations, and a Community Catalyst

Description: 

Riverfront Park is a Spokane treasure, the center of the city and the heart of the region. The park was originally built as the home of Expo ‘74 and then reshaped into a beloved park, yet 40+ years after hosting the Expo, this much-loved regional treasure needed reimagining for its next 50 years! Learn how Riverfront fits in the context of Spokane’s park history, and how the community was engaged to support over $75 million in its reimagining in a process that lasted from 2015 through 2020. Opening in a pandemic-impacted world that no one could have predicted, the park nimbly pivoted to introduce new programming, adapting to changing health protocols to remain the heart of the community at a time it was needed more than ever. Riverfront has been a catalyst shaping the character, culture, and attitude of the entire city and has been a launching platform for new system-wide planning efforts.

Presented by: 

Guy Michaelsen, Landscape Jedi, Berger Partnership

Biography: Guy is a landscape architect who works extensively in the public realm, including parks, trail corridors, streetscapes, and commercial public spaces and was integral to the master planning and reimagining of Riverfront Park from 2015-2020. He has a passion for inspiring others to imagine the possibilities by challenging the typical through fun, entertaining presentations. Guy is a regular speaker at regional and national conferences on a variety of subjects including empowering art in design of public places, challenging the role and opportunities for urban landscapes, corridor planning and more.

Garret Jones, Director of Parks and Recreation, City of Spokane Parks & Recreation

Biography: Garrett is a trained Landscape Architect deeply rooted in Parks and Recreation having guided numerous open space municipal projects from initial visioning through permitting, construction, and operations. He has held positions that include Assistant Director of Park Operations, Park Planning Manager, and today he leads the department as its Director. He passionately serves the public in his role, and he strengthened the department's culture and can-do attitude even while leading it through the challenges of the pandemic!

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will learn how to define, propose, and seek funding and implement major reinvestment in park facilities.
2. See realized strategies for integrating surgical interventions in parks while maintaining existing character and reshaping atypical program elements into sustainable park features
3. Participants will see first-hand how nimble programming can pivot and adapt to changing realities as the park’s phases came online during the pandemic.

So, You Want To Be the Boss?

Description: 

This panel style discussion will give student and young professional conference attendees the opportunity to hear from seasoned recreation and parks professionals about their recreation and parks careers. A panel of director and middle-management-level professionals from around the state will share their experiences in the field and highlight what it takes to obtain a supervisory/ managerial and executive role in the field. Equally important, panel members will be asked to share their funniest stories: Laughter guaranteed! Participants will have the opportunity to engage the professional panel through Q & A.

Presented by: 

Carmen Murrell, Recreation Supervisor, City of Shoreline

Biography: My name is Carmen Murrell and I have worked for the City of Shoreline for nine years. I started out as a Recreation Specialist II running Specialized Recreation programs and for the past five years, I have been a Recreation Supervisor who oversees Camps, Specialized Recreation, Outdoor Preschool programs, and youth athletics.

Jay Sandstrom, Recreation Coordinator, City of Edmonds

Biography: Jay Sandstrom is the Recreation Coordinator for the City of Edmonds. He received his bachelor's degree in Recreation and Leisure Services from Western Washington University and has over 9 years of experience in the recreation field. His background is in youth development and athletics, and over the years has overseen a variety of recreation programming in nearly every age demographic. Jay currently serves as a member of the Parks and Recreation Emerging Professionals (PREP) committee through WRPA.

Carissa Ware, Recreation Supervisor, City of Shoreline

Biography: Carissa Ware is a Recreation Supervisor with the City of Spokane Parks and Recreation Department. Carissa received her bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Gonzaga University and a master's degree in Behavioral Kinesiology from Boise State University. Carissa frequently speaks to college students and young professionals throughout the year. She has presented previously at past WRPA Annual Conferences on the topics of field allocations, and young professional development. Carissa has served on a number of WRPA committees during her 8-year tenure in the field and was the recipient of the WRPA's 2019 Young Professional of the Year honor.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will leave knowing what additional education, skills and professional experience are needed to advance in the field.
2. Participants will better understand the challenges that many management and director level professionals face in our state and around the country and will be able to weigh whether such a role is something they wish to pursue.
3. Participants will leave having a network of high-level professionals they can reach out to for advice and recommendations in the future.

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