- ABOUT US
- Who We Are
Who We Are
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department administers more than 220 parks, playgrounds, and open spaces, including two outside the city limits-- Camp Mather in Yosemite Valley and Sharp Park in Pacifica, Calif. Our park system includes 25 recreation centers, nine swimming pools, five golf courses and numerous tennis courts, ball diamonds, soccer fields and other sports venues. Included in the department’s responsibilities are the Marina Yacht Harbor, the San Francisco Zoo, and Lake Merced.
Our staff members are diverse, committed and talented recreation and park professionals, from gardeners, foresters, and recreation leaders to park patrol officers, custodians, electricians, painters, and more.
Mission Statement
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s Mission is to provide enriching recreational activities, maintain beautiful parks and preserve the environment for the well-being of everyone in our diverse community.
RPD By the Numbers
- 4,113 acres of recreational and open space
- 3,400 acres within San Francisco
- 671 marina slips
- 220 neighborhood parks
- 179 playgrounds and play areas
- 82 recreation centers and clubhouses
- 72 basketball courts and 151 tennis courts
- 59 soccer/playfields (and growing)
- 1 Family Camp
Get to Know Us
Phil Ginsburg | General ManagerPhil Ginsburg is the general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. With over 4,100 acres and more than 220 parks under its jurisdiction, the Recreation and Park Department stewards some of the most spectacular public spaces in the world, including Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower and the Palace of Fine Arts. Under Phil’s leadership, San Francisco became the first city in the United States where 100 percent of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Phil has led his organization through transformational improvements to the public realm and he has made equity and increasing access to public recreation and to nature, the department’s primary objective. Phil has built a financially sustainable model for San Francisco’s park system through ballot advocacy, the strategic use of public-private partnerships and philanthropy, creative revenue strategies, technology and administrative efficiencies. During his tenure, San Francisco has been consistently ranked one of the nation’s top five park systems. In 2019, Phil was appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom and reappointed in 2022. He was named to the National Recreation and Park Association Board of Directors in 2022. |
Eric Andersen | Superintendent of Parks and Open SpaceAs Superintendent of Parks and Open Space, Eric manages the delivery of landscape and custodial services with 360 permanent staff, caring for 225 parks on 3,500 acres across the City. The departments’ diverse properties include a wide array of parks, landscapes, natural resource areas, and formal gardens. As part of this, he oversees the stewardship of six regional Park Service Areas, Golden Gate Park, and 1,000 acres of natural resource areas and the urban trails program. Therein, Eric directs six specialty horticultural facilities and public gardens, including the San Francisco Botanical Garden, the Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers and our citywide nursery facilities. He also manages key workforce development programs such as our gardener apprenticeship program, and other alternate worker programs. |
Stacy Bradley | Director of Capital and PlanningAs the Deputy Director of Planning, Stacy manages the Planning Unit where she focuses on strategic, long-term, and complex open space challenges. She strives equally to serve existing residents and projected population growth by delivering park improvements, acquisition of new parks, and increased access to all parks. She and her team lead the Department’s acquisition strategy, review shadows from proposed developments near parks, and manage regulatory compliance related to capital and acquisition including consistency with California Environmental Quality Act, Historic Preservation, and the City’s Master Plan: Recreation and Open Space Element and Transportation Element. |
Lisa Bransten | Director of PartnershipsLisa leads a team that interacts with community members, foundations, non-profits and businesses that want to support parks and programming in San Francisco. Her division manages Department-produced, privately funded events and helps the public navigate through the steps of park improvements that are either fully or partially privately funded. The Partnerships Division plays a lead or supporting role in managing a portfolio of more than $100 million in projects that includes the almost fully privately funded renovation of the Golden Gate Park Tennis Center; Let’sPlaySF!-- a public-private partnership to improve San Francisco’s 13 worst playgrounds; and the construction of Francisco Park and India Basin Park. They also led the Department’s planning for a citywide celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Golden Gate Park in 2020. |
Dennis Kern | Director of OperationsDenny oversees the Department’s Operations, which comprises 10 Divisions and about 85% of its 2,300 employees. These include: Parks & Open Space, which is responsible for the landscaping and custodial staff that maintains 220 parks over 3,400 urban acres; Recreation & Community Services, with our 27 full-service recreation centers and nine aquatic centers; Structural Maintenance comprising over 100 FTE in 10 trades; Urban Forestry managing the estimated 131,000 trees on parkland; Park Rangers with 45 Rangers and dispatchers; Asset Management; Operations Project Management which delivers $15M in contract-based park improvements annually; Infrastructure Performance which provides the QA/QC for all our built environment; Golf & Turf; and the Marina Yacht Harbor which has 671 berths on San Francisco Bay. |
Dana Ketcham | Director of Property Management and PermitsDana oversees the Department’s Permits Division, which facilitates public access to parks by issuing over 70,000 permits annually, including 50,000 athletic permits (at three stadiums); 8,000 picnic permits; 5,000 indoor rentals for parties; and special events such as weddings, film permits, free speech rallies, concerts, and the San Francisco Marathon. Dana also directs the Property Management Division that issues leases, concessions, long-term permits, operating agreements, and partner agreements primarily through use of RFPs. Notable contracts include operating agreements to manage five golf courses, iconic tourist locations and leases relating to restaurants, ice rinks, waterfront properties, event venues, and concession agreements for food, boats, bikes and Segways. |
Sarah Madland | Director of Policy and Public AffairsSarah and her Policy and Public Affairs team direct government relations, communications, and community affairs, as well as the Department’s volunteer division, which supports over 250,000 hours of volunteer time in our parks each year, a value over $7.5 million to the department. Her team oversees youth environmental education programs that get 5,000 public school kids into our parks each year, learning the value of stewardship; the Cities Connecting Children to Nature Initiative; and the wildly popular, millennial stewardship program called Love Dolores. |
Christine Nath | Chief Information OfficerAs the Chief Information Officer, Christine leads the Technology Division which manages the department’s technology infrastructure, enterprise and line of business applications, Help Desk support services, and the upcoming Smart Parks Program. With over 20 years in technology – having worked for a technology consulting firm, as well as state and local government – Christine has implemented and managed major enterprise applications and introduced emerging technologies to organizations. With the use of innovative technologies, Christine is focused on helping to make San Francisco an even better place to live, work and play! |
Staci White | Executive Assistant to the General ManagerExecutive Assistant to the General Manager, Staci has worked for the Department for more than 30 years, the last 10 with Phil Ginsburg and his amazing executive staff team. |
Meet Neil Fahy: A Camp Mather Treasure
Up at Camp Mather, amongst the towering trees of Yosemite Valley, the crisp, clear waters of the Sierra Mountains and the warmth of the summer sun, there is another natural wonder that draws hundreds of San Francisco families to camp each year.
Neil Fahy, at a spry 92 years, is Rec and Park’s oldest employee and quite possibly its most energetic.
Neil originally joined the Camp Mather staff as a Naturalist back in 1944, worked for Rec and Park until 1960, then returned to Mather as a volunteer in 2008.
This past summer, he was promoted from volunteer to recreation leader, and continued his role in leading a junior naturalist program in partnership with federal park rangers, sharing his wealth of knowledge of natural and cultural history with city kids through nature walks, botany lessons, Miwok cooking demonstrations and geological field trips.
Neil is featured in a recent edition of Rec and Park’s podcast, “I Left My Park in San Francisco,” and shares why he still loves working with kids, his passion for nature, and his secret to staying so youthful. (Hint: it’s a daily scoop of a cold, tasty treat.)
Click to listen