Oct. 6, 2021
Contact: Susan Norton
Chief of Staff
479-575-8300
snorton@fayetteville-ar.gov
Alison Jumper Selected for Fayetteville Parks Leadership Role
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The City of Fayetteville has selected Alison Jumper to serve as Director of Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs. In her new position, Jumper will be responsible for oversight of parks planning, recreational services, natural resource and open space stewardship, cultural arts planning and implementation, special events and attractions within the City’s Parks system.
Jumper is a licensed landscape architect and holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. She spent the past three years with Runway Group where she led the completion of Osage Park and Coler Mountain Bike Preserve in Bentonville, Ark.
Jumper has an in-depth understanding of Fayetteville’s parks. Prior to Runway Group, she worked at the City of Fayetteville first as a park planner before being promoted to park planning superintendent, where she was responsible for managing the Park Planning and Urban Forestry Division. Jumper played instrumental roles in planning and completing park master plans and capital projects, including neighborhood parks, Kessler Mountain Regional Park and numerous downtown streetscape renovations.
“I couldn’t be more excited about this role and its new direction,” Jumper said. “I’m honored to have been selected to lead the department, and I see much opportunity to expand into areas that celebrate and promote Fayetteville’s culture and natural resources.”
City of Fayetteville Chief of Staff Susan Norton said, “As open space planning, natural resource preservation and cultural arts become more central to Fayetteville’s identity, we felt it was a good time to restructure our Parks and Recreation Department to include these strategic aspects in our long-range planning. In this expanded leadership role, Alison will oversee new programs that integrate stewardship of our natural resources, the development of a new cultural arts program and a new long-range plan for Fayetteville parks that is currently underway. We are excited to work with Alison to shape the natural and cultural landscape of the city throughout our parks and open spaces.”
The City of Fayetteville maintains 73 park properties, 4,078 acres of parkland and lakes and 56 miles of natural trails for hikers and mountain bikes. Fayetteville also offers more than 48 miles of hard-surface, multi-use trails and is continually expanding on this network. For more information about parks and recreation in Fayetteville, visit www.goplayfay.
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