Durango Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Schmidt has been immersed in parks and recreation work her whole working life. Her career started at age 16 as a lifeguard and camp counselor and since has taken her all over the world.
She studied municipal parks and recreation while working toward her Bachelor of Science in natural resources, recreation, and tourism from Colorado State University in Fort Collins and earned a Master of Science in recreation and leisure studies at Texas State University.
She served as a park ranger for the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. When she returned to the states, she served on several boards for the National Recreation and Park Association as well as on the National Association of Park Foundation’s board.
And she often found herself in leadership positions in parks and recreation departments at various municipalities along the way.
Schmidt was appointed Parks and Recreation director by Durango City Council on Jan. 2, bringing about 35 years of experience with her. She said one unique aspect of Durango she appreciates is just how much the community values its parks, trails and open spaces.
That’s counter to nearly every other place she’s worked prior, she said. It’s often a challenge to communicate how valuable parks and recreation projects are, and likewise to make the case for important funding. Even when residents approve funding, it’s often a battle between competing departments to secure it.
But not in Durango, she said.
Schmidt said the city’s dedicated sales taxes that contribute to parks projects are “a real gift” because they free up the city to focus on other important community needs.
Her approach to directing parks and recreation efforts lies in collaboration, she said.
“It takes a group effort to have a successful park system and Parks and Recreation Department. I've never been a didactic director. I've always been a collaborative leader,” she said.
She compared herself to Tibetan sherpas, who according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary are “known for providing support for foreign trekkers and mountain climbers.”
“I find success in getting the people around me to the top,” she said. “And I truly believe that that's how we all win, not only in our department, but in the community. If we all come together and work hard together, you know, many hands make light work.”
In her first year leading Durango Parks and Recreation, she’s focused on getting the 2005 sales tax reauthorized. She is also keen on increasing communication within the parks department. She created an internal management team that meets regularly to make sure everybody is on the same page.
“The other thing I think that's super exciting is the level of tenure that's on our team. And I'm not sure if that's because predecessors were incredible and everyone just wanted to stay or if that's because everyone wants to be in Durango and this is a great place to work,” she said. “But I value it immensely and feel very, very fortunate that that is the case.”
Before accepting a job with the city of Durango, Schmidt worked for the city of Bentonville, Arkansas, as the community events manager. Before that, she worked in the private sector for the Runway Group in Bentonville as the director of investments of green space and community initiatives. Her prized project was a 300-acre bike park project she said is comparable to the city’s Durango Mesa Park development.
“I got really excited about Durango Mesa park because I saw some opportunities there that we weren't capitalizing on in the private sector,” she said. “One thing that's beautiful about the public sector is the partnerships that you kind of formulate when doing something like Durango Mesa Park.”
She said the private sector is a “different kind of beast,” and while working in it she missed the community engagement opportunities that are part and parcel of public work.
It will be interesting to see how the city and community organizations fill the void left by La Plata County exiting out of the Durango Mesa Park project, she said.
Schmidt said her own relationship with outdoor recreation stems from a common bond outdoorsy folks share with being immersed in nature and feeling recharged by that immersion.
“There's something about a non-built environment in the recreation space that, for me, is just super appealing,” she said.
She said she’s never one to go to the gym or organized recreation classes. But she was an extended backpacker in her 20s, hiking the Colorado and John Muir trails and going backpacking in Scotland. She used to enjoy bouldering and rock climbing, but these days, she sticks to more passive activities such as backpacking, camping, kayaking and paddleboarding.
She still enjoys mountain biking, but she’s “all about forest service roads and gravel, not so much technical single tracks,” she said.
“I really connect with more of the outdoor recreation space of what we do: conservation, open space, green space, landscape management,” she said.
She said she always thought she’d wind up being a national park ranger. But there’s something about seeing the fruits of her labor and the feeling of giving back in municipal work that can’t be beat.
cburney@durangoherald.com
