Meet the talented individuals that help Parks & Recreation grow!
Susan Slawson is a retired Lieutenant of the Philadelphia Police Department, Management Consultant, and Executive Coach. As a 30-year veteran and a civil service employee of the City of Philadelphia, she is keenly aware of diversity and inclusion issues, particularly law enforcement.
Susan earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Geneva University. She received a certificate as an Executive Coach from Townsend Institute at Concordia University, Irvine.
Susan Slawson’s yearning for social justice led her to join the Philadelphia Police Department, where she rose through the ranks to attain the position of Lieutenant.
Her first assignment was the first Police District in South Philadelphia. Her professionalism and community involvement positioned her to be selected as a representative for the Department in the public affairs division. In that capacity, she was responsible for the public release of information for the 4th largest City in the United States.
Because she yearned for a comprehensive, futuristic view of law enforcement and community engagement, she accepted an assignment as the commanding officer of the Police Athletic League. In that capacity, she commanded over 50 employees, civilian and sworn. She led the opening of three new PAL facilities, which created more athletic, recreational, educational, and cultural opportunities for the youth, especially girls.
She was appointed recreation Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia in 2008 by Mayor Michael Nutter. During the financial crisis in 2008, Susan was able to raise millions of dollars to ensure that pools were open during the global economic crisis; federal grants, which provided computer labs to underserved communities throughout the park and recreation were also secured. She oversaw a seven-million-dollar capital renovation of the Dell Music Center, an outdoor amphitheater.
Susan is an entrepreneur, “Susan L. Slawson & Associates”, a Civil Service Commissioner, for the City of Philadelphia, the General Manager of the Dell Music Center and an instructor, but what’s most important and rewarding to her is being a wife, mother, grandmother and a servant in her church.
The police athletic league, the Philadelphia Tribune, the Philadelphia Business Journal, the National Congress of black women, and many other organizations recognized Susan for her work making a difference in the lives of youth and contributing to the overall quality of life in Philadelphia.
Susan (Sue) Buck was appointed Parks & Rec’s deputy commissioner of operations in 2016. A 1989 graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, she has been with Parks & Rec for 21 years.
As deputy commissioner of operations, Buck manages staff development and operations to preserve and protect public land and waterways. She also makes sure that the department’s buildings, fields, and parks are safe, clean, and ready to use. Specifically, she oversees:
- Facilities maintenance
- Grounds maintenance and landscape management
- Standards and inspections
- Park Rangers
- The Recycling Center
- Contract management
- Storm response
From 1995-2003, Buck was a recreation leader and facility supervisor at locations throughout the department. In 2003, she was promoted to coordinator of the department’s Teen Center. In 2007, Buck was promoted to district manager of then District 9, which included west and southwest Philadelphia. In March of 2011, Buck was promoted to North regional manager, a where she managed four districts in the Operations and Program divisions.
Marissa Washington is deputy commissioner of administration for Philadelphia Parks & Rec and has held this title since 2008.
She oversees the following departmental units:
- Fiscal
- Human resources
- Warehouse
Collectively, these units manage the department’s $70 million budget and personnel, representing roughly 2,000 staff members, both permanent and seasonal.
Prior to her appointment at Parks & Rec, Washington 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 after school programming. While at PAL, she assisted the Commanding Officer with various organizational responsibilities and national projects to build program capacity.
Washington was also a community organizer, mainly focused on 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.
Washington graduated from Towson State University with a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority incorporated, a social organization founded in 1908. A lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Washington graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls and resides in Upper Roxborough with her husband, James.
Leigh Ann Campbell is the Deputy Commissioner for planning, property and strategic engagement. In her role, Leigh Ann oversees:
· Capital Projects coordination
· Planning
· Historic Properties
· Property Management & Concessions
· Natural Lands
· Urban Agriculture
· Strategic Engagement
· Stewardship
She manages a variety of tasks and employees that lead strategic engagement, historic asset management, properties and concessions, and stewardship of open spaces including natural lands, urban agriculture, and volunteer stewardship engagement. Campbell is a licensed landscape architect and has over 20 years experience. She most recently served as the PPR Director of Planning, Preservation and Property Management. Leigh Ann spent the first decade of her career at OLIN, a Philadelphia design studio, then joined the PA Horticultural Society to be closer to community-based improvements where she supported teams that included urban agriculture, pop up gardens, horticulture, volunteer-based stewardship initiatives and led capital improvement projects in partnership with several City agencies. During graduate school, Campbell interned with Denver Parks and Recreation’s planning and natural lands division.
These days you will find Leigh Ann exploring our city with her husband and two teenage sons. She is active in her community and serves as a co-leader of her local Tree Tender group. Although she’s been an urban gardener for over a decade, Leigh Ann now has a plot in a local community garden.