Page 53 - THE MAGAZINE

HOUSTONIANS WHO MATTER

Memorial Park Conservancy’s Shellye Arnold

As President & CEO of Memorial Park Conservancy (MPC), thoroughfare. Other projects include Memorial Groves, a 90-
Shellye Arnold leads the charge to restore, preserve and enhance acre living memorial to the WWI soldiers who trained in what
Memorial Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians today and is now Memorial Park, as well as a running complex in keeping
for generations to come. Since joining MPC in 2013, Shellye with the Park’s urban wilderness.
has managed the creation and adoption of one of the nation’s
largest and most visionary urban-park restorations, launched The Park will see over $200 million of capital improvements in
its associated capital campaign, initiated project execution and the next 10 years, with Kinder Foundation and the Conservancy
transitioned the management and operations of 1,100 acres contributing $125 million. UDA has committed $113 million
of Memorial Park to the Conservancy. Additionally, under her through 2041.
leadership, MPC has grown from a three-person organization
with a $500,000 budget to a 30-person organization with $15 These commitments further accelerate the impact of
million of annual spend. A true team player, Shellye credits all contributions by early and lead donors to the campaign,
these accomplishments to the collaborative efforts of including The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Cullen Foundation,
MPC’s staff, board and partners. The Fondren Foundation, The Hildebrand Foundation, Wendy
and Jeff Hines, Houston Endowment, Christopher Knapp, The
Memorial Park Master Plan Wortham Foundation, Inc., and other generous foundations
In 2012, amid collective concerns for Memorial and individuals in the Houston philanthropic community.
Park’s ecological challenges, increased use and lack of
accessibility, the City of Houston asked MPC to develop
a long-range master plan for Memorial Park that became
critical after Houston’s historic drought. A nationally acclaimed
landscape architectural firm, Nelson Byrd Woltz (NBW), led the
Master Plan’s design, incorporating input from more than 3,000
Houstonians and 75 experts, including ecologists, historians, park
and urban planners and many others.

The 2015 Memorial Park Master Plan restores habitat and
establishes a healthy, resilient ecosystem; upgrades amenities;
addresses key infrastructure issues; and honors the cultural and
ecological history of the Park. Eastern Glades, the inaugural 100-
acre project, is currently underway and will add a large, quiet
and shady respite for picnicking and passive recreation. A five-
acre lake and wetlands will support native ecologies and serve
as wildlife habitat. MPC and its partners, Houston Parks and
Recreation Department (HPARD) and Uptown Development
Authority (UDA), have worked together to develop, fund and
implement the Master Plan.

What’s Next?
With Kinder Foundation’s $70 million lead gift, the largest single
parks grant in Houston history, City Council approved a public-
private funding model to accelerate Memorial Park’s long-range
Master Plan. A subsequent gift of $10 million by Emily and Robert
Clay added further momentum to the new ten-year timeline.
Over the next decade, priority projects will improve Houston’s
mobility, connectivity, economic vitality and ecological resiliency.
A signature land bridge, featuring a restored prairie ecology and
trails, will create a cohesive park experience while providing Shellye Arnold
safe passage for humans and wildlife over the Park’s dividing President & CEO of Memorial Park Conservancy

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