Kristine Stratton is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). In her role, she is responsible for the nearly $20 million national organization that works to ensure that all people have access to parks for health, conservation and recreation. NRPA is the national voice for the protection and creation of local parks, harnessing the passion and power of its more than 60,000 members and the millions of individuals they serve.
NRPA partners with foundations, federal agencies and corporations that recognize the critical role of parks in creating healthy and sustainable communities. The organization grants millions of dollars each year to its members to implement programs that have measurable objectives, such as increasing equitable park access, reducing obesity, increasing physical activity, saving wildlife, connecting children to nature and implementing green infrastructure in communities nationwide. Access to quality parks and recreation is a critical component to an individual's success and to strong communities, and NRPA focuses on underserved communities to give everyone access to a great park.
A staunch advocate for environmental conservation and equity issues, Stratton believes strongly in NRPA's mission. Before coming to NRPA, Stratton was the senior vice president of operations at Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest organization dedicated to litigating environmental issues. Prior to that, she served as the executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance in New York, New York, and before that she was vice president of operations at the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts. She also served in several administrative and senior management roles at WGBH Educational Foundation, a public broadcasting station, in Boston, Massachusetts. Stratton holds a Master of Arts degree in environmental policy and planning from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Boston University.
