Name: Keynote #2: Beyond Recreation: The Parks That Save Us - Sponsored by Destination Cleveland
Start: 2026-08-22T13:00:00-0500
End: 2026-08-22T13:45:00-0500

Keynote #2: Beyond Recreation: The Parks That Save Us - Sponsored by Destination Cleveland

Saturday August 22, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT

Madison Ballroom

For generations, parks have been valued for recreation, conservation, and beauty. But what if their greatest contribution is something else entirely?

In this keynote, Akiima Price shares the emerging practice of Restorative Park Engagement (RPE), a framework that explores how parks and nature can help address loneliness, chronic stress, community violence, and disconnection. Through powerful stories and examples from the field, she challenges audiences to reimagine parks as essential spaces for healing, belonging, and human connection, and to consider the role that outdoor experiences can play in helping to restore both people and place.

Keynote Sponsor: Destination Cleveland

Speakers

Akiima Price

Akiima Price is a nationally respected thought leader and practitioner advancing the emerging field of Restorative Park Engagement (RPE), a growing practice exploring how parks and nature can support communities impacted by poverty, violence, chronic stress, and disconnection.

Beginning her career as a U.S. Park Ranger with the National Park Service in 1993, Akiima has spent more than 30 years building community-rooted programs and partnerships at the intersection of parks, public health, justice, stewardship, and human development. Her work challenges... Read More →

Sponsors