About Friends of Shelby
OUR MISSION
To preserve, enhance, and promote Shelby Park and Bottoms
for everyone to appreciate and protect
Check out some of our ongoing work in the park!
OUr TEam
STAFF
Rebecca Ratz
Executive Director
Rebecca Ratz has served as Executive Director of Friends of Shelby Park and Bottoms since 2019, guiding the organization through a period of transformative growth in both reach and impact. Under her leadership, Friends of Shelby has expanded to a full-time staff of four, launched new community programs, and deepened its focus on equitable park access—ensuring all neighbors feel welcomed and connected to this essential public space.
Drawing on her background in landscape architecture and years as a project manager with Metro Parks, Rebecca brings a pragmatic, place-based approach to her work. She now leads major park improvement initiatives, cultivates partnerships across sectors, and oversees fundraising and strategic direction, all with the goal of helping more people find and enjoy the resources the park offers.
She lives in Lockeland Springs, where she loves to garden and share her homemade sourdough bread with friends and neighbors.
Grant England
Director of Partnerships and Community Engagement
Grant is a nature fanatic and outdoor recreation enthusiast on a mission to reconnect people to the land and water. As the Director of Partnerships and Community Engagement, he builds and manages partnerships, runs the environmental education program, leads community recreation activities, and tells the story of the good work happening in Shelby Park and Bottoms. Grant is a Vanderbilt alum and taught in Metro Nashville Public Schools. He has also worked in conservation and adventure sports and is thrilled to merge these experiences to support Shelby Park & Bottoms. His favorite things to do in the park are run (especially on trails), ride bikes and look for cool creatures.
CD Paddock
Community Outreach and Volunteer Leader
CD is the Community Outreach and Volunteer Leader, and helps ensure that the community is able to join the organization in protecting Shelby Park and Bottoms. Hailing from a rural town in Iowa, they were lucky to grow up surrounded by nature and community which instilled the belief that everyone deserves equal access to the outdoors. CD further developed their passion for community engagement while helping coordinate a community garden and farm in Washington State. You’ll often see CD walking in the park with their fiancé and their two dogs, or at community events near 5 Points where they live — make sure to say hi if you do!
Laura Sandall
Development and Operations Administrator
Laura is the Development and Operations Administrator at Friends of Shelby, where she combines her love for nature with her experience in administration and grant writing to help make a difference in the community. Originally from Peoria, Illinois, Laura’s connection to the outdoors led her to earn a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences from Oregon State University. She has worked in farm and conservation settings, as well as not-for-profit organizations. Laura lives in East Nashville and enjoys running and birdwatching in Shelby Park and Bottoms. She’s a true nature enthusiast, with a special passion for foraging—especially when it comes to hunting for mushrooms.
Perry Haga
Environmental Education Coordinator
Perry is the Environmental Education Coordinator and works with the Park Explorers program to help students discover the wonder, peace, and joy of nature through field trips and in-school visits. She is a self-declared “bird nerd” with a master’s in environmental science. A passion for connecting people to nature in their backyards has led Perry to work in outdoor education through summer camps and field trip programs in Vermont, Alabama, and now in Nashville with both the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center and Friends of Shelby. You might find Perry in the park running or birding on the greenway or reading in the sun by Sevier Lake.
OUR STRATEGIC VISION
Friends of Shelby Park and Bottoms is working to become a national model for activating inclusive community support for the care of an urban park.
By prioritizing access and inclusivity in urban park management, we not only address historical inequalities, we also ensure that park programming and improvements are created to meet the needs and interests of the entire community and foster belonging and ownership.
In 2024, Friends of Shelby developed a new strategic plan to guide the organization for the next 3 years.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
Jason Hitchcock
President
Hunter Groves
Vice President
Jeff Rupright
Treasurer
Adam Forgacs
Secretary
DIRECTORS
Kobi Ankumah
Katie Lentile
Suzie Tolmie
Fritz Spainhour
Peter Westerholm
John Niedzwiecki
Kaylen Harrison
Brian Pouliot
Jessica Wilmoth
Stephanie Biggs
Nini Okeefe
Cage Spoden
Kat Campbell
Olivia Janowisc
John Shoaf
Jason Wilson
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
Monique Odom
Director, Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation
Clay Capp
Council Representative, District 6
Emily Benedict
Council Representative, District 7