Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe announced today that Jennifer A. Fava has been appointed  

the Parks & Recreation Director for the Town of Westport. Ms. Fava will assume her duties effective September 1, 2015. She replaces former Parks & Recreation Director Stuart McCarthy

who retired on June 1. Until recently, Ms. Fava served for three years as the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation in the Town of North Hempstead in New Hyde Park, N.Y. where she managed a work force of 385 full and part-time employees and oversaw an operating budget three times larger than Westport’s Parks & Recreation budget. She managed the maintenance, operations and improvements of 53 park facilities (approx. 900 acres) including golf courses, a marina, the Clark Botanical Garden, multiple aquatic facilities, an athletic stadium, and a 60,000 sq. ft. community center. She increased department revenues and program offerings and reorganized the department with a new management structure for greater efficiency and cost effectiveness. She also implemented a more user-friendly website with new on-line registration and facility reservation capability. Prior to that, for nine years, Ms. Fava served as the Superintendent of Parks & Recreation for the Town of Yorktown, N.Y. There she managed 29 parks, related facilities and personnel, and was responsible for approximately 750 acres of open space. She worked closely with the Yorktown Land Trust on the preservation, improvement and acquisition of open space and, in collaboration with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, developed 12 additional miles of trails within the Town’s nature preserves.

Ms. Fava is affiliated with numerous associations, boards and committees including the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and the New York State Recreation and Park Society (NYSRPS), and is Chair of the Mid Atlantic Regional Consortium Executive Board. She holds a B.S. Degree in Leisure Studies and Resources from UMass Amherst and an M.B.A. from Fordham University. Ms. Fava said, “I believe it is important to ensure a balance of active and passive recreation opportunities and to look at each site not only on an in dividual basis, but also as a part of the entire park system as a whole.  Open space is critical not only for providing passive opportunities, but also for the aesthetics and environmental benefits of the community.”