PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION DIRECTOR ZARI SANTNER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Posted: March 29th, 2011 11:26 AM
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2011-03/1399/43077/Zari_Santner.jpg (Zari Santner, Director of Portland Parks & Recreation)
- Parks Commissioner Nick Fish to conduct national search for replacement -
(Portland, OR) - Zari Santner, Director of Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R), today announced her retirement, effective July 1, after nearly 30 years with the bureau, the last eight of which as director. Parks Commissioner Nick Fish has announced he will conduct a national search for her replacement.
"Portland Parks & Recreation and the people of Portland have benefited enormously from Zari Santner's vision, leadership and dedication," said Commissioner Fish. "From her commitment to quality design, to her efforts to fully integrate recreation programs into other areas of the organization, from diversifying the funding base for parks, to protecting and managing our natural areas, she will be leaving a rich legacy for future generations of Oregonians."
Starting as a Parks Planner in 1982, Santner worked on a variety of projects during her career at PP&R, many of them groundbreaking both locally and nationally. "I take pride in having played a critical role, early in my career, to open Powell Butte Nature Park for public use. In doing so, we also protected its natural resource values while offering the outer east residents access to nature in their community," she noted in her retirement announcement. "The Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade was a 16-year labor of love which, once completed, was enthusiastically embraced by the public."
Santner's passion for design excellence is evident in all projects she has spearheaded at the bureau, from the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade, Southwest Community Center, Jamison Square, and Tanner Springs Park, to more recent projects such as Director Park, Caruthers Park, Holly Farm Park, and the East Portland Community Center Pool.
In 1994, Santner became the manager of PP&R's $66M Parks Bond Measure which renovated more than 100 existing parks and facilities and built three new community centers and sports facilities. She vowed that all projects would be implemented within the five-year bond timeline, and on budget, as promised to the voters. She delivered on that promise and its success paved the path for her ascent in the organization.
Santner was named Portland Parks & Recreation's first female Director in 2003. The hallmarks of her eight-year tenure have been to:
* Establish a road map and begin to achieve the goals of The Parks 2020 Vision Plan
* Deliver on the promises made by the 2002 Parks Levy and regain financial stability after its expiration
* Strengthen the relationship between the community and the bureau to enhance awareness and appreciation of the park system
* Improve the sub-standard condition of the workforce facilities
* Creation of City Nature, placing the value of natural resources on par with the rest of the park system
Santner's recent awards include the Governor's Livability Award for Jamison Square and the American Society of Landscape Architecture Award for South Waterfront Park and the Eastbank Esplanade.
- Background -
Zari Santner lived her first 21 years in Iran. She graduated from Tehran University with a BS in Horticulture and earned her Masters in Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design. Her professional career has spanned more than 30 years. The first 10 years of her career were spent working as a landscape architect in the private sector, specializing in parks and school planning and design. She moved to Oregon in 1980 and began her work in the public sector with Portland Parks & Recreation's Planning and Development Department.
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