JENNIFER GREENFELD
Jennifer is the Assistant Commissioner of Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. In this role, she protects, restores, expands and manages New York City’s urban forest, natural spaces and green infrastructure.
Jennifer joined the Department of Parks & Recreation in 1997. She led critical efforts to study the health and mortality of street trees and to quantify the impact of trees on the urban environment. She coordinated the Parks Department’s second street tree census in 2006, helping to mobilize and train hundreds of volunteers and Parks employees who counted almost 600,000 trees citywide. Jennifer played an important role in the MillionTreesNYC initiative, which was one of the largest tree planting programs in the nation. As part of this effort, she oversaw the management of tens of millions of dollars in tree planting funding and meeting the goal 2 years ahead of schedule. Jennifer also overhauled the procurement of new trees, expanding the role and capacity of local nurseries to provide a diversity of high quality plant material.
Jennifer has overseen the restoration and management of 2,000 of acres of natural areas including the completion of the first fish passage in New York City, on the Bronx River; the restoration of salt marshes and the planting of nearly 450,000 trees, shrubs, perennials, and grasses as a part of this management.
Prior to working for the New York City Parks Department, Jennifer worked on land conservation and urban forestry in San Francisco and Washington DC. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in biology and environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Forest Science from Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.