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."
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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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