The Future of Outdoor Recreation Among Urban Dwellers Presented by New York Road Runners
- Ballroom @ HI NYC 891 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY, 10025 United States (map)
Outdoor recreation has historically been part of the fringe but is quickly becoming part of the mainstream culture in our cities. This first panel of the day will address the changing public perception on outdoor recreation and the relationship between city living and engaging with nature.
NYRR
COMMUNITY EVENTS
For the past three years, Paul Leak has been working to build communities around outdoor fitness in New York City. For the past year, Paul has been working on a new initiative for the New York Road Runners, Open Run. NYRR Open Run is a weekly community run that is led by leaders, held in local parks across New York City. It is now in six parks across the five boroughs and is still expanding. He has also worked as an Event Manager and a Coach for the New York Road Runners. Before moving to New York City, Paul received his degree from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, where he first fell in love with the outdoors and the mountains.
Paul is also one of the leaders of the November Project, a worldwide community, empowering humans of all fitness levels through fierce, FREE, weekly workouts. The group has grown from a group of five people two years ago, to over 200 people each week. Paul is a distance runner, rock climber, current vegan, and never says no to a road trip.
NYC PARKS
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, URBAN PARK RANGERS
Richard Simon is currently the Deputy Director of New York City’s Urban Park Rangers, a division of the NYC Parks. He joined NYC Parks in 1998 as an Urban Park Ranger, and has over eighteen years of exceptional experience in program management, environmental stewardship, policy development, and proven leadership in the public sector. Currently Richard works on projects as diverse as coordinating a multi-agency management plan to address the rise in the NYC’s coyote and deer population, to restructuring the Urban Park Ranger’s award winning Outdoor Adventure programs, to creating a media strategy to raise the public profile of the Ranger division. Richard graduated from CUNY’s College of Staten Island in 1995 with a degree in Political Science and studied Urban Wildlife Management with Texas A&M University. Richard received his Executive Master’s degree in Public Administration from Baruch College in 2012.
REI
OUTDOOR PROGRAMS AND OUTREACH MANAGER - TRI STATE
Melissa Abramson is the Manager of REI Outdoor Programs and Outreach. She has grown the program from the ground up, building strong partnerships with local non-profits, government and land agencies to help promote conservation and access to nature for those in the Tri State Area.
As an avid outdoor enthusiast, she has dedicated her life, both personal and professional to adventure, exploration, education and stewardship. She has worked in Brazil, Costa Rica and the Pacific Northwest designing adventure based Leadership Education programs for both youth and adults. After receiving her Masters Degree in Economics and Education Reform from the London School of Economics, she planted roots in New York City to create a direct pathway for urban dwellers to access nature and ultimately taking a vested interest in protecting and preserving public green spaces.
APPALAHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB
VP MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Kevin Breunig is Vice President of Communications and Marketing for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), where he is responsible for AMC’s public relations, digital, brand marketing, and publishing efforts. AMC promotes the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the mountains, forests, waters, and trails of America’s Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, and believes successful conservation depends on active engagement with the outdoors. Much of his work centers on new audience development, content marketing, and digital engagement, with a focus on broadening AMC’s constituency.
Prior to joining AMC, he authored “Losing Ground: At What Cost?,” a study of land use issues in Massachusetts published by Mass Audubon. Breunig spent 15 years in marketing, product management, and development positions in the software industry, most recently as a marketing director for mobile applications at Microsoft. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in political science and computer studies from Northwestern University. An avid outdoorsperson, he has hiked, backpacked, and kayaked in New England, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. He lives in Lexington, MA.
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