Lisa Bloodgood (she/her) joined North Brooklyn Parks Alliance in 2022 as the Director of Horticulture & Stewardship. She brings to the role a deep knowledge of the area, from plants to pollutants, as well as a wealth of experience engaging with North Brooklyn communities on matters relating to the local environment and sustainability.
Lisa currently resides in Williamsburg and can trace her ancestry all the way back to Dutch settlers in Queens and Brooklyn in the 1660’s! However, she first fell in love with plants in California: her family moved there from West Nyack, New York when she was a teenager, and the drastic differences between the natural environment on the east vs. west coast helped spark her curiosity in the natural world.
As an adult, Lisa moved to Brooklyn to pursue a career in the arts—but found herself repeatedly drawn to horticultural endeavors: tending to her own backyard garden and helping to establish gardens at local schools. She pursued her passion in academic and applied ways, obtaining a degree in Earth & Environmental Science from Brooklyn College while working as the Environmental Policy Advisor and Community Liaison for the office of Stephen Levin, former NYC Council Member for District 33.
Lisa went on to work at Newtown Creek Alliance as Director of Advocacy & Education, aiding the organization in their community-based approach to revitalizing this fraught waterway. She has also served, and continues to serve, on several boards, advisory councils, and steering committees for organizations like New York City Brownfield Partnerships and Mt. Sinai Transdisciplinary Center on Early Childhood Environmental Exposures.
At NBK Parks, Lisa looks forward to helping ensure that Under the K Bridge Park is stewarded responsibly and can thrive as a public green space in an unlikely setting: under the Kosciuszko Bridge, in the Greenpoint Industrial Business Zone, and abutting the Newtown Creek.
Edwin Hernandez joined North Brooklyn Parks Alliance in spring 2022 as the Operations Manager. Born and raised in Cooper Houses, Edwin has seen firsthand how under-utilized industrial sites in Greenpoint and Williamsburg—like Under the K Bridge Park—can be transformed into vibrant community spaces. Outside of his role at NBK Parks, Edwin is an accomplished creative fiction writer and has self-published more than a dozen short stories!
Katie Denny Horowitz became Executive Director of NBK Parks in May 2019. She brings nearly two decades of public and nonprofit experience to the role. Having steered the fundraising, communications, and government relations at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City for six years. Prior to which she served as the Director of Development for New Yorkers for Parks and the Director of Special Projects at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
A longtime Greenpoint resident, Katie has held past volunteer positions with NBK Parks, when it was Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn (OSA), and chaired its Community Committee. Katie was also a board member of Greenpoint Waterfront Alliance for Parks and Planning (GWAPP), co-founder of the North Brooklyn Public Art Coalition, and a Community Advisory Member of the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund (GCEF).
Native New Yorker, and twenty-plus year resident of Greenpoint, Lynn del Sol is a park lover. Which is great, since she joined one of the oldest nonprofits in the neighborhood fighting for equity and innovation in our public spaces. As the Deputy Director, her job is to obsess over social media engagement, unearth an archive, and fire up a neighborhood’s philanthropic soul.
Lynn was an art dealer and curator for almost fifteen years -responsible for over two hundred exhibitions, including Lebanon’s first attempt at a National Pavillon during the 2005 Venice Biennale. She also served as a Visiting Scholar to the New School’s Humanities Action Lab where she partnered with OutHistory.org, ACT Up! Oral History Project, and the New York Public Library Archive Division.
When she’s not spending an inordinate amount of time in a park with her best friend and pup, Lola, you can find her leading groups of folks around the neighborhood on walking tours discussing everything from rezoning and affordable housing to art, architecture, and history.