Growing up in New York City, Jesse Brackenbury loved visiting the parks nestled between the city’s skyscrapers.
“I had urban parks in my blood. I grew up taking gym classes in Central Park, and I’ve always been interested in environmental issues,” says Brackenbury, who ended up working for the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation after college.
That experience eventually landed him an executive director role at Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. The Greenway is an outgrowth of the Central Artery Tunnel Project, known as the “Big Dig,” which replaced an elevated highway with a tunnel system.
“People didn’t like the park when it opened,” Brackenbury says. “The Big Dig was controversial, expensive, and it took a long time.”
To boost its image, Brackenbury and his team ramped up the park’s offerings by adding 450 free events annually, including fitness classes, food trucks, rotating art installations, and a carousel.
Consequently, The Boston Globe, which once called the park “The Empty Way,” redubbed it “The People’s Park.”
In 2021, Brackenbury returned to New York City and is now president and CEO of the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation. He’s leading a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign to reimagine the National Museum of Immigration. It will include new exhibits and interactive media to tell the stories of the 12 million immigrants who came through Ellis Island and the broader, more inclusive history of American immigration.
“I thought there weren’t many park jobs better than the one I had in Boston,” Brackenbury says. “Joining the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation and working on these monuments proved otherwise.”