Carol Coletta
"Landscape architecture is complex but experienced viscerally, without the need to understand or analyze. Landscape is always changing, always surprising. The joy it delivers is universal."
Carol Coletta is a national figure in the revitalization of cities and public spaces. Since 2017, she has served as president and CEO of Memphis River Parks Partnership, a public-private partnership responsible for six miles along the Mississippi River in downtown Memphis.
Last fall, the Partnership celebrated the opening of Tom Lee Park, transforming 31acres of flat monoculture into a lush, sustainable park. Designed by Studio Gang and SCAPE, the park is the centerpiece of the Memphis riverfront and a national model for welcoming and ecologically restorative urban parks.
Carol previously served as senior fellow in the American Cities Practice at The Kresge Foundation where she led a $50+ million national collaboration to Reimagine the Civic Commons.
She was vice president of Community and National Initiatives for the Knight Foundation, managing grantmaking in 26 communities.
Carol led the start-up of ArtPlace, a public-private collaboration to accelerate creative placemaking nationally and was president and CEO of CEOs for Cities for seven years. She was executive director of the Mayors' Institute on City Design, a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Conference of Mayors and American Architectural Foundation.
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