Park Pride is excited to welcome Anna D’Alessandro to its team as the Community Building Associate for DeKalb County and the City of Brookhaven! Anna is a lifelong DeKalb County resident who loves the natural world. For the past decade, she’s worked in the local food scene on farms and as a farmers market manager, most recently at Peachtree Road Farmers Market in Buckhead.
Continue reading to get to know Anna in her own words!
What does the “power of parks” mean to you?
To me, the power of parks comes back to the healing power of nature. Protected greenspace gives city residents a place to step away from the traffic, construction, and concrete, whether that means walking among the trees or relaxing at a picnic table. I also love the “power of playgrounds,” where kids can safely learn about risk and step outside their comfort zones, whether they’re tackling a scary slide or watching a lizard dart under the leaves.
Why are parks an important part of the community?
Parks will always be a place for communities to come together. Phones and the internet have connected us in some ways, but they’ve also made our daily lives more disconnected. Parks and greenspaces bring us back together. You see the same faces again and again, and you get a chance to meet a neighbor.
What are you most excited about regarding your new role?
As a lifelong DeKalb County resident, I grew up in these parks, but I’ve quickly learned how many more parks and communities there are to discover. I’m looking forward to digging deeper in DeKalb County and working alongside community members to keep their parks alive and thriving.
How do you hope to empower communities to engage and make a difference in their neighborhood parks?
Many community members are already doing this work, and I hope to be their advocate and biggest cheerleader. I like getting my hands dirty, so I plan to be right there with them as they go door-to-door to engage neighbors, to support them when they speak at neighborhood meetings, show up at workdays to pull invasives and maybe even recruit passing dog walkers to join the next one! 😉
What’s your favorite park memory?
I have so many, but a recent one comes from this summer. I was walking my dog through Herbert Taylor Park when something moved at the edge of my vision. I turned to find two huge bucks and two does walking through the woods just off the trail, the closest I’ve ever been to a buck! I’m also lucky to live on South Fork Peachtree Creek, where a big blue heron hangs out behind my house. It wades so majestically through the water that I can never look away.
Favorite Atlanta Park (and why)?
Mason Mill’s 100-acre woods! You can get happily lost for hours on the trails or enjoy the paved and boardwalk paths through the trees.
Send Anna a message at anna.dalessandro@parkpride.org to help welcome her to the team!
