As executive director of the Lincoln Parks Foundation, Maggie Stuckey-Ross helped raise millions of dollars for the city’s parks, pools, playgrounds, golf courses and trails.
Soon, she’ll start overseeing how to spend it.
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird on Tuesday named Stuckey-Ross the next director of the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department. She is replacing 22-year director Lynn Johnson, who announced his retirement last month.
“She is a proven leader and team builder and has the knowledge and talent to build on the venues, services and programs that Lynn has so carefully and skillfully developed,†Gaylor Baird said in a news release.
Since joining the Parks Foundation in 2017 as its first full-time employee, Stuckey-Ross helped grow its endowment from $9.5 million to nearly $17.3 million, according to the release. And it now has a staff of seven.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate previously served as director of foundation relations for the University of Nebraska Foundation and as senior manager of corporate partnerships for the Arbor Day Foundation.
“I am proud to follow in the footsteps of my mentor and friend, Lynn Johnson, from whom I have learned the true meaning of servant leadership,†she said in the release.
She’ll earn $112,500 when she begins her new job June 2, overseeing the department’s 133 parks, 134 miles of trails, 92 playgrounds, 80,000 street trees, nine public pools, six recreation centers, five golf courses, four dog runs and a nature center.
She’s eager to maintain the department’s momentum, and isn’t stepping in with a list of problems to solve, she said. Because she doesn’t have to.
“At this point, I am really looking forward to continuing the work that Lynn has started, and the direction that the administration has given to the department. I think we have a lot of good things going for us.â€
Maggie Stuckey-Ross, the current executive director of the Lincoln Parks Foundation, has been appointed as the new director of the Parks and Recreation Department.Â