Women in Parks and Recreation Forum (WiPaR)

Meet Lakita Watson! The powerhouse behind the popular facebook page, "Women in Parks and Recreation." 

Lakita Watson is a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional with over 20 years of experience.  She is a graduate of Norfolk State University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Social work and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration from Liberty University. She is currently the Executive Director of Richland County Recreation Commission. She joined the Commission after serving 15 years as the Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Suffolk, Virginia.  Lakita is active on the national level currently serving as the President of the National Recreation and Parks Ethic Minority Society. Her work has been recognized on the state and national level where she has served as the President of the Board for the Virginia Recreation and Parks Society and a Diversity Scholar for the National Recreation and Parks Association. Lakita was recently selected as fellow for the American Academy for Parks and Recreation Administration and elected to the Board of Directors for the National Recreation and Parks Association. Lakita is a regent for the National Revenue Management and Development School and has presented at several local, state and national conferences. In addition to her work with mentoring young professionals, Lakita serves on the advisory committee for GP RED, a non-profit organization whose goal is to fully recognize and expand research, education, and resource development activities for community “quality of life” agencies. In August 2019, Lakita started the Facebook “Women in Parks and Recreation (WiPaR)” which now has over 8,000 members.

Women in Parks & Recreation Forum Facilitator