As Director of Miami Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, Maria Nardi oversees the implementation of the Miami-Dade County Parks and Open Space Master Plan, a vision born from engaging the community through an extensive public engagement process. The result is a Master Plan to transform Miami Dade into a more economically, socially, and environmentally vibrant community through a system of parks, public spaces, natural and historic areas connected by greenways/blueways and complete streets designed as linear parks. Her work includes the role of parks and public spaces in shaping cities; the emerging evidence-based science of health and the built environment; and the creation of equitable, resilient communities through parks and public spaces. She leads the South Florida Parks Coalition, which convenes 35 municipalities, with county, state, and federal park agencies to implement the Master Plan’s vision.
Maria Nardi is an elected Fellow of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. She also Co-Chairs the Board of Directors of City Parks Alliance, the only independent, nationwide membership organization solely dedicated to urban parks, is an invited member of the Florida Sterling Council Board of Directors, the International Women’s Forum, and the National Recreation and Park Association Parks and Recreation Magazine Committee, among other Board memberships.
