Kirkland City Manager Kurt Triplett announced that Lynn Zwaagstra has been hired as the new Parks and Community Services Director and is expected to start May 23. As Kirkland’s Parks and Community Services Director, she will oversee the city’s recreation programs; parks planning, acquisition, development and maintenance; community services and volunteer participation in the restoration of natural areas.

Zwaagstra is currently the Director of Campus Recreation at the University of Arizona, where she oversees all the facilities and recreation programs that serve the 42,000 students and 15,000 faculty. Prior to her time at Arizona, Zwaagstra was the recreations director for the towns of Breckinridge and Frisco in Colorado. She also has experience running recreation programs on military bases and outdoor programs. Zwaagstra has extensive training in transformational leadership, change management, financial management, marketing, tourism development and much more.   She has built large facilities such as a tubing hill and terrain park in Colorado and implemented innovative new programs to increase public participation and park revenues in each of her jobs.

“Lynn was chosen from a pool of exceptional candidates because she has the best balance of skills to take Kirkland to the next level,” Triplett said. “She has energy, passion, and a talent for implementing systems while seeing the big picture. Most importantly, she genuinely cares about the health and well-being of the residents she serves. I am thrilled she will be joining our team and excited about the vast experience and leadership skills that she will bring to Kirkland’s parks and community services programs.”

Zwaagstra has Bachelor’s degrees in both Psychology and Recreational Administration from Illinois State University, as well as a Master’s degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism from the University of Utah. She is committed to living an active and healthy lifestyle that includes hiking, boating, biking and skiing.

“It is an honor to be part of a city renowned for its parks and recreation systems and human services programs,” Zwaagstra said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the community and guiding the vision and development of parks, natural resources and community services.”