Meet the talented individuals that help Parks & Recreation grow!
Susan Slawson is a retired Lieutenant of the Philadelphia Police Department, Management Consultant, and Executive Coach. As a 30-year veteran and a civil service employee of the City of Philadelphia, she is keenly aware of diversity and inclusion issues, particularly law enforcement.
Susan earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Geneva University. She received a certificate as an Executive Coach from Townsend Institute at Concordia University, Irvine.
Susan Slawson’s yearning for social justice led her to join the Philadelphia Police Department, where she rose through the ranks to attain the position of Lieutenant.
Her first assignment was the first Police District in South Philadelphia. Her professionalism and community involvement positioned her to be selected as a representative for the Department in the public affairs division. In that capacity, she was responsible for the public release of information for the 4th largest City in the United States.
Because she yearned for a comprehensive, futuristic view of law enforcement and community engagement, she accepted an assignment as the commanding officer of the Police Athletic League. In that capacity, she commanded over 50 employees, civilian and sworn. She led the opening of three new PAL facilities, which created more athletic, recreational, educational, and cultural opportunities for the youth, especially girls.
She was appointed recreation Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia in 2008 by Mayor Michael Nutter. During the financial crisis in 2008, Susan was able to raise millions of dollars to ensure that pools were open during the global economic crisis; federal grants, which provided computer labs to underserved communities throughout the park and recreation were also secured. She oversaw a seven-million-dollar capital renovation of the Dell Music Center, an outdoor amphitheater.
Susan is an entrepreneur, “Susan L. Slawson & Associates”, a Civil Service Commissioner, for the City of Philadelphia, the General Manager of the Dell Music Center and an instructor, but what’s most important and rewarding to her is being a wife, mother, grandmother and a servant in her church.
The police athletic league, the Philadelphia Tribune, the Philadelphia Business Journal, the National Congress of black women, and many other organizations recognized Susan for her work making a difference in the lives of youth and contributing to the overall quality of life in Philadelphia.
Susan (Sue) Buck was appointed Parks & Rec’s deputy commissioner of operations in 2016. A 1989 graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, she has been with Parks & Rec for 21 years.
As deputy commissioner of operations, Buck manages staff development and operations to preserve and protect public land and waterways. She also makes sure that the department’s buildings, fields, and parks are safe, clean, and ready to use. Specifically, she oversees:
- Facilities maintenance
- Grounds maintenance and landscape management
- Standards and inspections
- Park Rangers
- The Recycling Center
- Contract management
- Storm response
From 1995-2003, Buck was a recreation leader and facility supervisor at locations throughout the department. In 2003, she was promoted to coordinator of the department’s Teen Center. In 2007, Buck was promoted to district manager of then District 9, which included west and southwest Philadelphia. In March of 2011, Buck was promoted to North regional manager, a where she managed four districts in the Operations and Program divisions.
Aparna Palantino is the deputy commissioner for capital infrastructure and natural lands management. In her role, Palantino oversees:
- Planning
- Capital projects
- Property management
- Urban forestry and ecosystem management
Palantino manages a variety of tasks and employees that work in capital projects, sustainability, maintenance and more. She also develops relationships with outside partners. She comes to Parks & Rec with over 20 years of project management and executive experience.
Prior to her appointment as deputy commissioner, Palantino was project director with the Department of Public Property, where she oversaw the successful implementation of over $65 million of annual work in sustainable capital improvements and historical projects for various city departments and agencies. Before coming to work with the City of Philadelphia, Palantino owned, operated, and managed all aspects of her own business.
Palantino studied architecture at the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology in Ahmedabad, India and as an exchange student at ETH in Zurich, Switzerland. She also has taken additional coursework in micro and macro economics. She lives in Fairmount with her husband, Joe, and their two children, Dylan and Anika. She and her family can often be found at one of Philadelphia’s many recreation facilities.
Bill joined Philadelphia Parks & Recreation in 1993. He began his career at Parks & Rec as a summer camp counselor at Houston Playground. He progressed through the ranks from facility supervisor to Director of Strategic Development to his current role as Deputy Commissioner of the Program Division.
In his current role, Bill oversees over 350 staff at more than City 150 recreation centers, in addition to dozens of swimming pools, 6 older adult centers, 5 ice-skating rinks, and 3 environmental centers. Bill oversees Parks & Rec’s Food Program, which provides over 1 million meals annually to children over the summer and after school. He is also responsible for the Work Ready program, which provides summer jobs to more than 1,400 young people each year.
In his previous roles, Bill led organizational culture and partnership development for Parks & Rec and was instrumental in developing and implementing the department’s first-ever strategic plan. Since 2016, Bill has been the driving force behind the Philadelphia International Unity Cup, a World Cup-style tournament that unites Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and celebrates the contributions and cultures of the city’s diverse immigrant communities through soccer.
An educator, coach, and lifelong learner, Bill is a graduate of the National Recreation and Parks Association’s Directors School and has presented both locally and nationally on culture building and several Parks and Recreation program topics. Bill is a lifelong Philadelphian. In his free time, he focuses on youth development by coaching basketball in the Roxborough area of the city.
Marissa Washington is deputy commissioner of administration for Philadelphia Parks & Rec and has held this title since 2008.
She oversees the following departmental units:
- Fiscal
- Human resources
- Warehouse
Collectively, these units manage the department’s $70 million budget and personnel, representing roughly 2,000 staff members, both permanent and seasonal.
Prior to her appointment at Parks & Rec, Washington worked at the Police Athletic League (PAL) where she managed grants, supported the accounting unit with budget preparation, recruited volunteers and hired part-time staff for after school programming. While at PAL, she assisted the Commanding Officer with various organizational responsibilities and national projects to build program capacity.
Washington was also a community organizer, mainly focused on the quality of public education provided to youth in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia. She worked closely with parents in North Philadelphia to help them navigate the school system and increase accountability at the local level.
Washington graduated from Towson State University with a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority incorporated, a social organization founded in 1908. A lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Washington graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls and resides in Upper Roxborough with her husband, James.