May 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 65

Staff Spotlight: Kevin O'Hara

f you attended NRPA's Legislative Forum in March, you'll remember Kevin O'Hara, who recently joined the NRPA team as vice president of urban
and government affairs. A powerhouse in both urban affairs and public policy,
O'Hara comes to NRPA from his previous position as government affairs manager
for the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). He has also served as
director of government affairs for the Education Credit Management Corporation
and in various service and organizational roles throughout the political sphere.
We talked with O'Hara about his
background, his plans for his future
with the association, and how parks
and recreation shaped him for success.

Parks & Recreation Magazine: How
do you think your previous roles in
public policy management prepared
you to be vice president of urban
and government affairs at NRPA?
Kevin O'Hara: I've taken a lot away
from each of my different professional
and educational experiences, but most
recently, my work with ASLA allowed
me to focus on the design of public
spaces, which exposed me to policy
concerns of public spaces and community parks of all shapes and sizes.
I'm excited to work on the same issues
at NRPA and apply my knowledge of
policy and design to help address the
urban and legislative needs of park and
recreation agencies across the country.
P&R: Your predecessor focused exclusively on government affairs, whereas your position also includes attention to urban concerns. What issues
does NRPA hope you will address in
this new, combined position?
O'Hara: My passion and interests
lie in urban affairs, and I got my
master's degree in urban planning. I
feed off of urban spaces, so I want
to make sure parks and open spaces
are featured prominently in the conversation of what makes cities great.

Parks are a focal point and a place for
gathering - they're what allow you
to live in a city. My focus will be on
making parks part of the solution to
urban issues and better leveraging resources for our urban directors.
P&R: As a newcomer, what areas do
you see for improvement in NRPA?
O'Hara: I think we can better leverage
the power of our members' stories. By
getting more buy-in from our members
and more grassroots support, we can
increase our two-way communication.
We as an advocacy team need to connect better with our members, and we
need to be better in engaging our members as thought leaders in this profession, using them to tell the stories that
showcase the impact parks and recreation can have. We need to help legislators know the power of parks and
recreation in communities, using the
stories of our members' success.
P&R: What is your biggest pet peeve?
O'Hara: People with big opinions who
won't roll up their sleeves. We are only
as strong as the people who participate.
Much like a democracy, decisions are
made by those who show up. If you're
not engaged, you likely won't get the
results you want. Apathy in general
irks me. In graduate school, one of my
professors gave me a bar of soap with
the following quote by Hubert Humphrey that always motivated me:

" When I was a teacher - and this was
some time ago - they used to say this: 'Politics is corrupt, politicians are corrupt. I don't
want anything to do with politics.' And my
answer to them was, well, if you think it's
corrupt, then get your bar of political Ivory
Soap and get in there and clean it up. Quit
sitting on the sidelines, whistling and jeering
at the people down on the playing field. Get
out there and get roughed up a bit and see
what it's like to live in this world of reality. "
P&R: What's your favorite park and
recreation memory?
O'Hara: I grew up across from Quarry
Hill Park and Nature Center in Rochester, Minnesota, so I spent much of my
childhood there looking for fossils, running, hiking, cross-country skiing....
Working at NRPA brings that home.
Quarry Hill helped me make that initial
strong connection with nature.
O'Hara lives across from Kalorama
Park in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., with
his wife, Meaghan. In his free time,
he serves on the advisory council for
Franklin Park in Washington, D.C.,
volunteers as a tree planter for Casey
Trees, and enjoys hiking, eating and
travel. He is looking forward to meeting members, so feel free to introduce
yourself at kohara@nrpa.org.
- Danielle Taylor, Senior Editor of
Parks & Recreation Magazine

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May 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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