Farewell Loriee, Welcome Allie

Loriee Evans, Community Engagement Manager, joined The Park People as Community Engagement Coordinator in August of 2022. “I was looking for an opportunity to work on my biggest passions: volunteerism, climate action, and community equity,” said Loriee. For the past several years, Loriee has been The Park People’s community liaison, working with volunteers, Community Foresters, and Community Connectors & Climate Ambassadors. She brought bright ideas and baked goods, all while ensuring that The Park People’s volunteer and resident network remained informed and engaged. After more than three years, we must bid an unfortunate and heartfelt goodbye to the heart of our community outreach operations as she returns to her family in Arkansas.

“The dedication and tree love of our Park People volunteers have been a constant source of joy and energy. Y’all are the most amazing, passionate group of people. I will miss every single one of you! And the community engagement team we have built with the leadership of our Community Connectors and Climate Ambassadors is going to be growing neighborhood climate resilience for years to come.”

We are deeply going to miss Loriee’s dedication, presence around the office, and knack for tabling events. However, for any concerned volunteers and community members, fear not! Many of you already know Brenda Negrete, who worked with Loriee on community engagement activities, and are thrilled to share that Brenda will work with our Community Connectors & Climate Ambassadors as our new Community Engagement Manager. Further, we are excited to announce that Allie Runne, former Field Crew Supervisor who joined The Park People’s TreeForce team in 2023, is transitioning to Community Engagement Coordinator, and will work with our volunteer network! “Allie is going to be fantastic,” said Loriee. “She is a delight and joy to work with.”

Both Allie and Brenda are already organizing this year’s Community Forester workshop series (now open for registration!), and we can’t wait to see the good, green things they spearhead this year. “I’m so excited to be a part of another sector of The Park People by joining the amazing community that Loriee has built over the past few years. I hear so many amazing things about our dedicated, skilled, and enthusiastic team of volunteers. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone better and delving into our volunteer community,” said Allie.

Please join us in welcoming Allie to our community outreach team, and cheering on Allie and Brenda as they move important work forward with our volunteers and neighborhood leaders. We wish Loriee and her family all the best, but find comfort in knowing that she isn’t too far away…in fact, a little birdie told us that she might just return as a volunteer herself this spring at Denver Digs Trees.

“This has been so meaningful,” said Loriee, “so thank you.”

Thank you, Loriee! We wouldn’t be The Park People without park people like you.

To join our volunteer community, please email allie@TheParkPeople.org