It’s Not Goodbye, It’s Congratulations on Your Next Big Move, Adriana!

by Michele Beasley

It is never easy to see a talented and passionate staff member move on. Yet there is joy in watching them pursue their dreams, especially when you know their future is bright. After more than two years as the Parks Foundation’s first Program Coordinator, Adriana Fernandez Arriaga is moving on to her next exciting opportunity and we wish her success and happiness in her future endeavors.

Ever since San Mateo County Parks released their 2015 Visitor Study, the Foundation has increased efforts to dissolve the barriers that keep some people from knowing and loving their parks. The Parks Foundation had started a youth environmental field trips program and a brand new Enhancing Equitable Access grant program, but there was a real need to expand and promote these to the broader community. Creating a new Program Coordinator position allowed us to go deep in building connections throughout the county and better fulfill our mission to inspire people to care for, learn about and enjoy San Mateo County Parks.

At the 2018 Bay Area Open Space Council conference (now TOGETHER Bay Area), I was paired with a budding leader in the environmental sector to whom I was to provide some guidance and support. This is how I met Adriana. Adriana shared her goal of wanting to connect a Spanish-speaking mother’s group from North Fair Oaks to local open space parks. With the Foundation’s field trip program and Adriana’s can-do attitude and connections in the community, we organized a field trip to Edgewood Preserve in the summer of 2018.

It was a big success. Ten mothers and their children arrived by bus and were welcomed to Edgewood Preserve by Friends of Edgewood Junior Explorer docents. They enjoyed a puppet show before heading out to explore the park. It was clear the Parks Foundation needed to facilitate more of these outings.

Two years later, at the height of the pandemic, Adriana joined the Parks Foundation board of directors. Although parks provided a lifeline during lockdown, the pandemic also highlighted inequitable access to parks. San Mateo County imposed an ordinance that limited outdoor recreation activity to within 5 miles of one’s residence. Just look at a map to see who benefits and who does not.

To better connect people to parks, it was time for the Foundation to grow. The new Program Coordinator position was created, and in May 2022, Adriana stepped off the board to join Leslie and I on staff. She hit the ground running. Here are a few highlights from Adriana’s time with the Foundation:

Creating this inspiring video in Spanish about Friendship Park for Latino Conservation Week in 2022.

Providing grant funding and support to eight organizations through our Enhancing Equitable Access grant program, including two new north county non-profits, Rise South City and South San Francisco Education Foundation. The latter wrote a great article about the partnership.

Supporting 60 park field trips in the last two years with a mix of event and bus coordination, financial support for buses and lunch, and Spanish translation. One highlight was the Memorial Park camping trip for Casa Circulo Cultural, which Adriana wrote about in our fall 2023 newsletter. Another highlight was her Spanish translation on Fitzgerald Marine Reserve field trips. One parent chaperone remarked, “It’s so great to know that you [Adriana] are here to help provide Spanish translation. I have not heard of a service like this in outdoor spaces and I believe more services like these need to exist.”

Activating Friendship Park in North Fair Oaks by engaging gardeners and partners, like Fresh Approach, whom we brought in to lead gardening and compost workshops, and Parks staff, whom we worked with on events like a salsa-recipe contest. This has led to efforts to ‘Reclaim Friendship Park’, which aims to empower the local community to look after their neighborhood pocket park.

Leading history walks and talks in the parks in partnership with San Mateo County Pride Center and Peninsula Family Service.

Adriana also worked closely with County Parks Interpretive team. Park Ranger Katherine Wright shared, “Adriana was a phenomenal partner to work with; very organized, supportive, and all around enthusiastic. The San Mateo County Parks Interpretive Division felt like she was an extension of our team and we were able to accomplish so much more outreach and connections into the County’s various impacted communities directly due to her efforts.”

These are just a few of the ways Adriana worked to dissolve barriers between people and parks. Her passion, motivation, resourcefulness and dedication have left a mark on the Parks Foundation and all the people with whom she worked.

So what is next for Adriana?

Adriana is now the Public Policy Manager for El Concilio of San Mateo County, which is committed to increasing education, employment and access to quality of life services to underserved communities in San Mateo County. Ever since her college days, Adriana has advocated for environmental justice through authentic community engagement and by unlocking the leadership potential of communities of color. Her passion for environmental justice and love for the outdoors stemmed from her frequent visits to Coyote Point and living in a mixed immigration status household. In her new role, she will bring structure to and elevate the profile of El Concilio’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program.

We wish Adriana much success in her new role!

While she was with the Parks Foundation, Adriana successfully spent down our youth environmental field trips bucket of funding. In honor of Adriana’s many achievements whilst at the Parks Foundation and her very bright future, please consider becoming a monthly donor and restricting your gift to our Youth Environmental Field Trips program.