Palm Springs has hired Yvonne Wise as its new Parks and Recreation director, the city tweeted this week. Wise previously served for five years as Parks and Recreation director for the Port of San Diego.
“For someone truly passionate about people, parks and placemaking, the culturally rich city of Palm Springs offers a vibrant canvas,” Wise said in a City of Palm Springs news release. “I am honored to be chosen to lead the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, and I look forward to joining this community and working alongside a talented team.”
City Manager Justin Clifton said Wise is set to start on June 27.
Wise’s extensive career and background include a master’s degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia and dual bachelor’s degrees from Penn State University, the release said.
She also served as the public art director for the City of Philadelphia prior to her work in San Diego. Wise was hired by the Port of San Diego in 2007, eventually becoming the Parks and Recreation director there in 2017.
Additionally, during her years as Parks and Recreation director at the Port of San Diego — a public agency that has jurisdiction over 34 miles surrounding San Diego Bay — Wise managed public access to 22 parks, athletic fields, piers, two cruise ship terminals and an aquatic center, the release said. She is also credited with overseeing the management of the incorporation of “aesthetic enhancements” in San Diego, such as the colored programmable LED luminaires added to the Coronado Bay Bridge.
