Montreal Park Forum: Keynote Address

Currently, the President of the New York Botanical Garden, Adrian Benepe was formerly Senior Vice-President and Director of National Programs for The Trust for Public Land and former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (2002-2012). In his last tenure, he oversaw a major expansion of New York City’s park system by establishing a culture of collaboration involving community groups, the City and the private sector. He has an inspiring perspective on the value of this collaboration in planning and managing a park system that is responsive to community needs and city government responsibilities. 

Director of R.Es.P.I.R.E., Nathalie holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Laval University and a PhD in Urban Studies from the Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre (Centre Urbanisation Culture Société) in Montréal. Throughout her professional career as an anthropologist, she has worked on various topics in places such as Andhra Pradesh (India), Mashteuiatsh, Nitassinan (Quebec) and Managua (Nicaragua).

When addressing issues in public spaces and interactions between their users, she draws on social geography, the anthropology of communication and urban sociology. She is passionate about writing and teaching on and experimenting with, new methodologies associated with the urban dwellers. She has a soft spot for the Parc Jean-Drapeau, in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, for its contrasts between crowds and solitude, past and present, and city and nature.