After 18-month national search, Louisville moves employee into top spot over city's parks

Nearly 18 months after a national search began, the Louisville Metro Parks Department named an executive director on Friday after moving an employee from another department into the role.

Michelle King, the assistant director of Metro's Air Pollution Control District, was named the parks department's first executive director. She became APCD's assistant director in July 2023.

"While we looked far and wide across our country, it turns out that the right leader for our parks is someone who has been in metro government all along, about 20 years," Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Friday, during a press conference for the announcement.

King also serves as vice chair of Louisville's Sustainability Council's Board of Directors. She is on the Board of Directors for Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition and is also on the Steering Committee of the Partnership for a Green City, according to the city's 2023 ACPD press release.

Transit Authority director Ozzy Gibson was serving as the interim parks director until longtime assistant parks director Jason Canuel, an engineer, was named the parks director in November 2023. Then Gibson was promoted to interim parks executive director until King's appointment.

In his interim role, Gibson was tasked with implementing the Parks for All plan, which aims to fix inequities in the city's parks and reorganize the parks department. The Parks Alliance of Louisville, which supports 103 parks, released the plan in the fall of 2022.

Metro Councilwoman Cindi Fowler, who is chair of Metro's Parks and Sustainability committee, told The Courier Journal that Metro Council approved a one-year, $100,000 role for Jayne Miller, the consultant who worked closely with Metro Parks to create the Parks For All Plan master plan.

"We made it very clear that we wanted to make sure Jayne was in place to consult with whoever the new director was, to walk them through and make sure that in the first year, that she understands the Parks for All Plan," Fowler said.

That plan showed Metro Parks has more than $177 million in deferred maintenance, as of 2019 data.

The 18-month search for an executive director

The city began looking for a new parks director on Feb. 2, 2023. It started with a search for a consulting firm to conduct a national executive search. It received 29 bids for the job.

Metro Council voted to spend $24,000 to find a new executive director who would be "instrumental in implementation" of the plan.

By mid-April 2023, the city chose a consulting firm, but the firm's search for an executive director came up empty.

More: If Louisville is a city of parks, why is it letting them fall apart?

In mid-November 2023, the Parks Department also posted an announcement on its website for a new executive director, this time without using a consulting firm.

The minimum requirements included 10 years of administration experience in a "diverse parks and recreation department." The job post included added that "professional urban parks experience is a plus."

King has no formal background in parks. She has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Morehead State, a Master of Public Affairs in Environmental Policy from Indiana University. She also earned her law degree at IU.

"I’m a person that is used to leading teams of highly competent professionals," she said. "I know that’s what I’m stepping into here. So my first step is to listen and learn, and that’s what I’ll be doing. I need to understand what are the needs, strengths and gaps."

When asked what project she was passionate about, King mentioned deferred maintenance.

"It's not just the new and developing projects," she said, "It's deferred maintenance. It's important that we maintain our facilities that we have right now and that they're usable and functional for our residents."

As assistant director at APCD, King oversaw the administrative side of the department, as well as program planning, according to an APCD org chart.

"Michelle is a first-class environmental professional and public servant who has spent her career working to improve her hometown’s natural environment," said APCD director Rachael Hamilton. "She has displayed her knowledge, enthusiasm, and commitment to community collaboration in her work at APCD, and we are excited to see that work continue at Parks."

Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative reporter. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville names Michelle King parks executive director