Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors is pleased to announce Morgan McCormick as the new Park Stewardship and Maintenance Director for the City of Chattanooga’s 100+ parks and green spaces. With extensive experience in parks maintenance as Chattanooga’s Deputy Director of Park Maintenance and a strong background in leadership and process improvement, McCormick brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role.
“Our parks, green spaces, and natural beauty are what set us apart,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. “We’re thrilled to have a leader of Morgan’s caliber on our team to help us care for and preserve the spaces and natural resources that make Chattanooga a beautiful place to call home.”
"We are thrilled to promote Morgan to Park Stewardship and Maintenance Director," said Scott Martin, Administrator of the City of Chattanogoa’s Department of Parks and Outdoors. "With her passion for developing leaders and implementing innovative solutions, we are confident that Morgan will play a crucial role in enhancing the stewardship efforts of our world-renowned park system, ultimately providing an outstanding experience for our community, visitors, and events."
McCormick holds a BA, MA, and PhD from Florida State University, along with a certification as a Municipal Finance Officer from the State of TN Comptroller's Office. With years of experience in parks maintenance and a proven track record of success, McCormick has demonstrated a commitment to building preventative maintenance programs, improving processes, and fostering a culture of teamwork. Throughout McCormick's career, her leadership has been dedicated to coaching team members and empowering them to implement operational changes that enhance efficiency and safety. Her leadership has led to better preventative maintenance for Chattanooga’s park system, including a more fluent work order system.
She has also led an initiative to bring battery-powered small equipment to use in an effort to reduce both air and noise pollution. McCormick has also implemented new safety equipment for the female workforce in Chattanooga’s parks
“I'm honored to lead a team of knowledgeable, talented, and passionate individuals,” says McCormick, “Individuals that care for community green spaces that support the physical, mental, and environmental health of our community and volunteers.”
In this new role, McCormick will continue to focus on guiding nearly 50 team members through the process of implementing new ideas, from securing budgets to providing necessary training and managing change effectively. McCormick will also work towards goals outlined in the Parks and Outdoors Plan, approved by Mayor Tim Kelly and adopted in June of 2023 unanimously by the City Council. McCormick will work with teams to fix, build, connect, and preserve parks outlined in the “pop” plan while maintaining Chattanooga’s well-known beauty that led to the acceleration of becoming the first National Park City in the Americas. By embracing new ideas, experimenting, and learning from both failures and successes, McCormick aims to ensure that Chattanooga's parks and green spaces serve the community to the best of her abilities.
The Department of Parks & Outdoors
Our vision: A City in a Park.
In Chattanooga, everyone will have access to a well-loved, well-used and well-cared-for system of parks, recreation, and outdoor spaces that fosters community belonging and well-being and enhances our unique and breathtaking natural setting. We are community builders, connecting all Chattanoogans and guests to the benefits of parks, recreation, nature, adventure, history, culture and the arts.