June 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 73

Staff Spotlight: Tara Fitzpatrick-Navarro

RPA has undergone a lot of change in recent years as the association
has adapted to meet the needs of an evolving membership, and Tara
Fitzpatrick-Navarro has been the driving force behind many advancements NRPA has made during the past decade. She has served in a variety
of leadership roles in professional development at NRPA, culminating in her
current position of the past three years as vice president of membership, professional development and research.
This month, Fitzpatrick-Navarro
concludes a 10-year term of service
at NRPA as she moves on to become
the United States Tennis Association
Mid-Atlantic's new executive director. Although her wealth of institutional knowledge, forward-thinking
mindset and enthusiasm for the field
will be missed, she has equipped her
team for continued success, and the
association wishes her the best for a
bright future.

Parks & Recreation Magazine: Tell
us about your previous experiences
in parks and recreation.
Tara Fitzpatrick-Navarro: My park
and recreation story starts in aquatics as a lifeguard at 15. I worked as
a lifeguard all through high school
but planned to become a teacher and
stumbled upon a park and recreation
degree. While attending Virginia
Tech, I earned the top spot as the
aquatic manager for the campus pool
and reported to the head of campus recreation. She had a degree in
parks and recreation and helped me
discover all of the opportunities that
existed. I transferred from Virginia
Tech to George Mason University
and earned a degree in health, fitness
and recreation resources while working for the Town of Herndon and
then Splash Aquatic Management. I
stayed at Splash until 2004 but transitioned to part-time when I started

at Fairfax County's Department of
Community and Recreation Services,
now the Neighborhood and Community Services Department.
While with the County, I oversaw
a pilot inclusion program for senior
adults with disabilities in a senior
center and after a year was promoted to oversee the Senior Center in its
entirety. I left the County to come to
NRPA, first as the manager of certification and accreditation. I had done
training for employees at Splash, and
this was a good fit for me.
P&R: How do you feel your education prepared you for your career?
Fitzpatrick-Navarro: My degree and
experience in parks and recreation has
always been helpful at NRPA because
I understand the way professionals
are prepared academically and the
hands-on, day-to-day work of a public servant in parks and recreation.
This perspective has helped me shape
programs and services as well as relate to our members. Though, I never
believed that this alone could be the
driver for decisionmaking and have
always relied on relationships with the
members to help guide decisions.
P&R: Of what are you most proud as
you look back on your time with the
association?
Fitzpatrick-Navarro: My first big
achievement was the centralization

of the certification program. I did
a needs assessment, environmental
scan and strategic plan and created
a consistent CPRP program for the
field that didn't exist before. Since
then, launching PRORAGIS, updating member services with things like
Fun Express that are really designed
to help members to do their job,
updating Congress education with
things like speed sessions and learning centers.... I don't know. There is
a lot that I am proud of.
Fitzpatrick-Navarro and her husband, Jonathan, who works in public parks and recreation, live in Ashburn, Virginia, with their 6-year-old
son, Brayden, 2-year-old daughter,
Makena, and dog, Remmy. In her
free time, she volunteers as treasurer of the Parent Teacher League
at her children's school and enjoys
reading, being outside, and participating in family activities like biking, hiking and sports with her husband and kids.
- Interview by Danielle Taylor, Senior
Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine

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