Meet our Program Associate at Park Pride, Elizabeth Bogue! Elizabeth is from Atlanta, GA and studied Neuroscience with minors in Biology and Religion at the University of Georgia. While working at the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Elizabeth gained grants management experience and was exposed to a myriad of individuals and non-profits working to make Atlanta better in some capacity. Park Pride perfectly marries what Elizabeth loves from personal life with past professional experience.
“I hope for all of our local parks to be welcoming and inclusive to people from all backgrounds and walks of life.” – Elizabeth Bogue
Elizabeth will help administer the matching grants to Friends of the Park groups to create engaging, active greenspaces for neighborhoods across our service area. Elizabeth also works on our Fiscal Sponsorship Program, which provides Friends of the Parks groups with fiscal sponsorship to raise money for their parks under Park Pride’s 501(c)3. With hopes to empower individuals and help build the capacity of neighborhoods to do more than they could alone, Elizabeth is ecstatic to be on the Park Pride team.
When not at work, Elizabeth enjoys hiking, exploring, reading, and traveling.
We asked Elizabeth to talk about her thoughts on parks and the environment:
What is the power of parks in your own words?
Being in a park is where I feel most at peace, most myself, and most able to connect with the world around me. Parks foster community, beauty, play, exercise, well-being, and peace. That’s the power of parks.
How do you see communities connected to parks? What role does each play for the other?
Parks and libraries are two of the only remaining PUBLIC spaces that are free, welcoming, and accessible to all. In my opinion, community is welcoming and inclusive. I hope for all of our local parks to be welcoming and inclusive to people from all backgrounds and walks of life.
How are parks important for the environment?
They give individuals a love and connection to nature, which is the basis for real change.
What’s been your favorite aspect of working for park pride?
Getting to meet so many new people who share my passion for parks and greenspace.
What are your goals with Park Pride moving forward? What are you excited about?
I want to make the grant application process as accessible as possible, both by streamlining our applications and by making myself available to community members to ask questions about the process.
And of course, some fun questions: If you woke up one morning and found yourself inside of a movie, what movie would you join?
I’m going to ignore your question and go with a TV show, which would be Parks & Recreation. I truly aspire to be Leslie Knope.
What is the ultimate best park picnic food and why?
Pimento cheese & pickled okra. I’m a southerner through and through.
If you could have picnic lunch with any environmentalist, alive or dead, who would it be?
Henry David Thoreau. Does that count? He’s a naturalist, and it was through his eyes that I first fell in love with parks and nature.
Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth!