Translate
AccessibilityMeet the Deputy Commissioners
Iris Rodriguez-Rosa
Iris Rodriguez-Rosa became the First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in February 2022, previously serving as the Bronx Borough Commissioner for the agency.
Rodriguez-Rosa started her career organizing tenants and the community in Williamsburg Brooklyn in the late 1970s under the Federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) program. She then began public service with the City with Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden as a community Board liaison and later in 1979 became the District Manager for Community Board 4 in Bushwick Brooklyn, deemed then as the youngest ever appointed. Iris began her career at Parks in 1986 serving as Director of Community Boards; continued as an operations manager in upper Manhattan and for the better part of 20 years; and later served as Chief of Recreation in the Public Programs division in both the Bronx and Queens. It was in this capacity that she realized that bringing health & fitness opportunities to New Yorkers was exceedingly important, and that parks and facilities offer the perfect environment for creative programming. It was with her initial efforts and support from Parks that she was able to obtain programming funding from elected officials for events such as movie nights, family days, and concerts.
As of June 2015, Iris has served as the Bronx Borough Parks Commissioner. In this role she helped work with and merge the Friends of Van Cortlandt Parks and the Van Cortlandt Conservancy to become what is now the Van Cortlandt Alliance; she has been a champion along with former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. on the renovation of the Orchard Beach Pavilion; and she has helped execute countless playground renovations for the benefits of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers across the city. Iris is the adoptive parent to her two nieces Sylvia and Jasmine and helps care for her nephew Jason and grandnephew Amir. Her anchor and best friend are her husband Manny Rosa, and they have five beautiful grandchildren: Noel, Sophia, Annabel, Rafael, and Aaron Jeremiah.
Therese Braddick
Therese Braddick is the Deputy Commissioner for Capital Projects for NYC Parks. She leads over 300 architects, landscape architects, engineers and budget staff responsible for investing $300 million annually in parks, playgrounds, and recreation facilities throughout the five boroughs of New York City.
For six years prior to becoming Deputy Commissioner, Ms. Braddick held two titles: Director of Historic Houses for Parks and Executive Director of the Historic House Trust. During this time, she raised millions of dollars, both public and private, for historic house projects; directed the re-branding of the Trust; and increased the Trust’s services to Parks’ 22 historic properties, addressing education programming and long-term planning needs, in addition to emergency repairs, capital improvements and maintenance issues.
Prior to her work with the Trust, Ms. Braddick served as Deputy Director and Director of Development for the City Parks Foundation where she also raised millions of dollars and managed complex restoration projects including the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park.
Ms. Braddick first joined Parks in 1983 as an Urban Park Ranger. Two years later, she moved to Natural Resources Group (NRG), first as Education Coordinator in 1985, and then was promoted to the Deputy Director in 1986. Returning to the Rangers in 1987, she served as a Director, where she managed the 100-member uniformed division. From 1990 to 1992, Ms. Braddick was the Chief of Staff to Queens Borough Commissioner Oliver Spellman. She has a degree in Resource Management from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She lives in Queens with her husband.
Mark A. Focht, PLA FASLA
Mark Focht is a landscape architect, licensed in Pennsylvania, with over 30 years’ experience in the private, public, non-profit and academic areas of practice. He comes to New York from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, where he served as First Deputy Commissioner overseeing operations, maintenance, planning, capital, property management, urban forestry, ecosystem management and security for a 10,200 acre system comprised of 197 passive parks, 55 recreation centers, 97 playgrounds and 71 outdoor swimming pools.
Prior appointments include Executive Director of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park System; Director of the park’s Environment, Stewardship & Education Division; and Director of Capital Projects for the Center City District (Philadelphia, PA), a private sector business improvements district. Additionally, Mark has over ten years’ experience with two multi-disciplinary design firms and was an adjunct professor in Temple University’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture from 1989-2010.
Mark was inducted as a Penn State University Fellow in 2015 and has received Alumni Achievement Awards from the University of Massachusetts (2013) and Penn State University (2007). Mark was inducted as a Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects in October 2008 and served as the Society’s Vice-President for Communications in 2010/11 and President-Elect, President and Immediate Past-President in 2013-2015.
Mark’s love of parks grew from frequent family camping trips to State and National parks while growing up. Mark holds Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in landscape architecture from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Massachusetts, respectively.
Jennifer Greenfeld
Deputy Commissioner for Environment and Planning
Jennifer Greenfeld has 30 years of experience in the field of natural resource management. She began her Parks career in 1997 as the Director of the New York Tree Trust (now known as TreeTime) a public-private urban forestry partnership. Appointed Acting Director of MillionTreesNYC (MTNYC), Jennifer helped to create and launch a signature PlaNYC initiative. Subsequently, she has served as Director of Street Tree Planting and Deputy Chief of Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources (FHNR).
In 2016, Jennifer moved into the role of FHNR Assistant Commissioner. In this role she advanced New York City's forestry operations by shifting away from a Service Request-based system to a risk management-based system, helped usher in a new generation of tree data by finishing the the third street trees census and the first ever census of landscape park trees, and shaped the agency’s forestry response to the major storms in this century.
She oversaw the completion of hundreds of millions of dollars in capitally funded natural areas restoration, green infrastructure, and forestry work, and shaped the partnership between Parks and the Natural Areas Conservancy. Her leadership built a positive culture among forestry and natural resource professionals - prioritizing staff recognition, professional development, and communication; and fostered a data-driven culture of technological innovation.
Before joining Parks, Jennifer worked for non profit planning organizations and urban forestry groups in San Francisco and Washington DC. Jennifer earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree in Forest Science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She loves biking, running, yoga, and relaxing under the shade of the massive white oak tree in her backyard.
Margaret Nelson
Margaret came to NYC Parks in 2014, after previously serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff to former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. In that capacity, she directed the Council’s legislative and policy divisions, and helped pass hundreds of legislative bills including Paid Sick Leave and Living Wage.
In her role as Chief of Staff for Commissioner Silver, she served as a key member of the executive management team responsible for establishing agency policies, guiding external and internal communications, and managing stakeholder relationships including non-profit partners and elected officials. Margaret was also responsible for helping to implement the Commissioner’s vision for equity in public spaces, planning and placemaking in parks, innovation and technology, and caring for parks. She spearheaded a number of inter-divisional funding initiatives including securing over $80M for replacement fleet vehicles, and also helping establish a synthetic turf field maintenance and replacement model program.
Margaret earned her master’s degree in Public Administration from The Wagner School of Public Service at New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Duke University graduating Magna Cum Laude. She has two teenage daughters and loves to stay active. In addition to being an avid skier, she enjoys running and cycling in Prospect Park. Margaret also loves animals and has both a dog and cat at home.
Joy Wang
Joy Wang has served in New York City government since 2001. She began her City career in the Mayor’s Office of Contracts (MOC), where she oversaw and ensured compliance of Mayoral Agencies’ procurements to City regulations. During her time in the MOC, Joy oversaw the procurement of human service contracts and assisted in preparing the Chief City Procurement Officer for City Council contracts hearings.
Joy also served as the Capital Budget Coordinator for two years at the American Museum of Natural History, where she managed the Museum’s capital contracts from program submission to contract closeout. In addition, Joy analyzed, tracked, and managed the museum’s annual $25-$30 million capital plan.
Since 2004, Joy has served in different capacities at the NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA). In her most recent role as Associate Commissioner in the Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Operations, Joy oversaw fiscal policies at DFTA, a City agency with an operating budget of over $316 million. Joy has been a strong advocate for the funding of the agency, which had over 30 different funding streams. She also implemented policy decisions and carried out special projects affecting aging services and providers throughout the City. During her time at DFTA, she managed the operation of various units including: Budget, Fiscal, General Services, Information Technology, Facilities, Planning and Research, and Human Resources. Most recently, Joy also assumed responsibility for the fiscal operations and management of DFTA’s non-profit arm, Aging in NY Fund.
She holds a Master’s of Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, a Master’s degree from Fordham University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and French from Rutgers University. She was also inducted in the Department of Citywide Services Leadership Institute.
Joy currently lives in Queens with her husband and daughter. She enjoys baking, Zumba, hiking, and musicals.
%7Cutmcsr%3D(direct)%7Cutmcmd%3D(none)%3B%2B__utmv%3D91522326.-%3B)