Meet the talented individuals that help Parks & Recreation grow!
With over 30 years of dedicated service to fostering community engagement, Susan Slawson is a visionary leader in parks and recreation. A graduate of Geneva College with a degree in Business Management, Susan combines her business acumen with a deep passion for sustainability and community development. Her instinctive understanding of community dynamics has earned her widespread reverence, trust, and respect throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
Susan was sworn in under Mayor Cherelle L. Parker in 2024 and is deeply aligned with the mayor’s vision of making Philadelphia “a Safer, Cleaner, and Greener City, with Access to Economic Opportunity for All.” Her work exemplifies this mission by creating inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable park spaces that enhance public life and promote a higher quality of living. She firmly believes that accessible, diverse recreational programs can transform neighborhoods, making them more desirable places to live, work, and play.
As the commissioner of Parks & Recreation for eight years prior to the merger of Fairmount Park and the Department of Recreation, Susan oversaw strategic planning and programming for over 150 recreation centers and playgrounds across every neighborhood in Philadelphia. Her tenure was marked by innovation and resilience, particularly during the economic downturn of 2008. Under her leadership, the department secured significant federal grant funding to reduce the digital divide, introducing 25 KEYSPOT computer labs with internet access across the recreation system. She also successfully raised over $4 million to keep outdoor pools operational during this challenging period, ensuring critical community resources remained available.
Currently, Susan continues to collaborate closely with City Council members to plan capital projects and budgets. Her expertise in building partnerships with community organizations, neighborhood groups, and city departments highlights her commitment to operational excellence and collaborative leadership.
Guided by an unwavering vision for progress, Susan’s work leaves an indelible mark on the community, inspiring a brighter, more inclusive future for all, fully embracing the promise of a safer, cleaner, and greener Philadelphia.
Sue Buck’s journey through Philadelphia Parks & Recreation is a story of dedication, growth, and deep-rooted love for the city she calls home. A proud native Philadelphian and graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Sue’s career began on the front lines, working directly with the communities she now serves on a citywide scale. From her early days as a facility supervisor to leading programs in West and Southwest Philadelphia, she steadily climbed the ranks—first as a district manager, then as a regional manager overseeing four districts across both operations and programming.
Each step in her path has shaped her expertise, giving her an intimate understanding of what it takes to maintain, preserve, and protect the parks, waterways, and public spaces that make Philadelphia thrive. Now, as deputy commissioner of operations, Sue leads with that knowledge, ensuring every park, field, and recreation center is safe, clean, and ready to welcome visitors. She oversees everything from turf and landscape management to urban forestry, from park rangers to sustainability initiatives, and from storm response efforts to the Organic Recycling Center. She also ensures the seamless operation of Philadelphia’s signature events, including the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run and the city’s cherished New Year’s tradition, the Mummers Parade, where streets and parks transform into stages for celebration and community pride.
Under Sue’s leadership, Philadelphia’s green spaces are not just maintained—they are nurtured, safeguarded, and enhanced for generations to come. Through the ever-changing seasons, from the bloom of spring to the golden hues of autumn, her work ensures that the city’s parks remain places of beauty, recreation, and connection, where traditions flourish and new memories take root.
Marissa Washington is First Deputy Commissioner for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation; she has been with Parks and Recreation since 2008. Her responsibility spans across the department with direct oversight of the Fiscal, Human Resources, Technology, Procurement, Safety and Warehouse units for the department. These units are responsible for the collective management of the department’s $99 million budget and human capital representing roughly 2000 staff members; permanent and seasonal.
Prior to her appointment she worked at the Police Athletic League (PAL) where she managed grants, supported the accounting unit with budget preparation, recruited volunteers and hired part-time staff for afterschool programming. While at PAL she assisted the Commanding Officer with various organizational responsibilities and national projects to build program capacity.
Marissa was also a community organizer, predominantly working on issues related to the quality of public education provided to youth in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia. She worked closely with parents in North Philadelphia to help them navigate the school system and increase accountability at the local level.
She graduated from Towson State University with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Marissa is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority incorporated; a social organization founded in 1908. A lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Marissa graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls and resides in Upper Roxborough with her husband.
Leigh Ann Campbell is the Deputy Commissioner for Planning, Property, and Strategic Engagement. In this role, she oversees a wide range of areas including capital projects coordination, planning, historic properties, property management and concessions, natural lands, urban agriculture, strategic engagement, and stewardship. Leigh Ann manages tasks and employees that lead initiatives in historic asset management, properties and concessions, as well as the stewardship of open spaces such as natural lands, urban agriculture, and volunteer-based stewardship engagement.
A licensed landscape architect with over 20 years of experience, Campbell previously served as the Director of Planning, Preservation, and Property Management for PPR. She spent the first decade of her career at OLIN, a Philadelphia-based design studio, before joining the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to focus on community-based improvements. There, she supported initiatives like urban agriculture, pop-up gardens, horticulture, volunteer-based stewardship, and capital improvement projects in partnership with various city agencies. During her graduate studies, Leigh Ann interned with Denver Parks and Recreation’s planning and natural lands division.
Outside of her professional work, Leigh Ann enjoys exploring the city with her husband and two teenage sons. She is an active member of her community, co-leading a local Tree Tender group, and has been an urban gardener for over a decade. Leigh Ann currently tends a plot at a local community garden.