Washington Parks & People

Washington Parks & People, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, is the capital’s hub for activating public lands & waters for broad community revitalization – through partnership, innovation, discovery, and workforce development. Our mission is to grow city-wide park-based community health & vitality by nurturing innovation & partnerships.

We are headquartered at the Riverside Center in Far Northeast Washington at the hub of Marvin Gaye Park, DC's longest municipal greenway, where we have been leading the community revitalization with DC Parks and Recreation for nearly ten years. 

At the hub of our Think Outside campaign is the Josephine Butler Parks Center, a "greenhouse" for revitalizing innercity Washington that is used by our member organizations and the public for programming and events of all kinds. Together with our many partners, we work to build community and support the positive use of public parks through environmental planning and restoration; arts, culture, and health and fitness programming; and advocacy.