The mission of the Memorial Park Conservancy is to preserve, restore, and enhance Memorial Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians, today and tomorrow.
The Conservancy
Memorial Park’s sheer size (1,500 acres, nearly twice the size of Central Park) and central location – in the heart of Houston – make it distinctive nationally. Further distinguishing Memorial Park is its cultural history as a former WWI training camp – Camp Logan – where 70,000 soldiers trained for battle. It is the only such camp remaining in the United States that has not been developed and is an archeologically protected site because of its role in WWI and the archeological features that remain. Memorial Park is where the sport of jogging was popularized nationally by Seymour Lieberman, the namesake for the Park’s locally-popular and nationally-acclaimed jogging trail.
Memorial Park Conservancy is a private, nonprofit organization that operates and maintains 1,100 of the Park’s 1,500 acres. The Conservancy’s mission is to restore, preserve and enhance Memorial Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians, today and tomorrow.
Founded in 2000, Memorial Park Conservancy aspires to implement principles of exceptional park management and stewardship in a successful public-private partnership with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD). In 2015, Memorial Park Conservancy took over the day-to-day operations and maintenance of 1,100 of the 1,500 acres of Memorial Park.
Memorial Park Conservancy advances our mission through the following areas of focus:
Our Staff
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Board of Directors
Chair
Veronica Chapa Gorczynski
Vice Chair
Lissa Gangjee
Treasurer
John Briscoe
Secretary
George Johnston
President & CEO
Shellye Arnold
Directors
Rogene Gee Calvert
Kalinda Campbell
Claire Caudill
Philip Croker
Sarah Flournoy
John Garibaldi
Bobby Heugel
Kenneth Huewitt
Elizabeth Howley
Joshua Ibarra
Sabrina Kirwin
Louie Layrisson
Bob McDowell
Jorge Munoz
Tanya Pal
Anna Peikert
Townes Pressler
Dhiren Shethia
Rob Saltiel
Executive Committee
Veronica Chapa Gorczynski – Chair
Lissa Gangjee
John Briscoe
George Johnston
Kalinda Campbell
Claire Caudill – At Large
John Garibaldi
Ken Huewitt
Joshua Ibarra
George Johnston
Tanya Pal
Carrie Pepi – Immediate Past Chair
Engagement Committee
Kalinda Campbell – Chair
Rogene Gee Calvert
Sarah Flournoy
Anne Hamman
Bobby Heugel
Janet Hobby
Joshua Ibarra
Anna Peikert
Townes Pressler
Beverly Rideaux
Carl Salazar
Master Plan Implementation Committee
John Garibaldi – Chair
Claire Caudill
Philip Croker
Ken Huewitt
Jorge Munoz
Sarah Flournoy
Sarah Newbery
Park Operations Committee
Joshua Ibarra – Chair
Claire Caudill
Elizabeth Howley
George Johnston
Rob Saltiel
Dhiren Shethia
Governance Committee
Ken Huewitt – Chair
Rogene Gee Calvert
John Garibaldi
Joshua Ibarra
Louie Layrisson
Finance Committee
Tanya Pal – Chair
John Briscoe
Lissa Gangjee
Jennifer Hazelton
Sabrina Kirwin
Bob McDowell
Financial & Legal
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