Meet our Visitor Services Coordinators
It’s clear to Overton Park Conservancy that the most important part of managing a park is creating an excellent visitor experience. That means that from the time you arrive at the park until you leave, you should encounter a clean, beautiful, safe space. You should feel welcome, and your concerns should be heard. Ideally, you should leave feeling better than you did when you got here.
That’s why we’ve hired two Visitor Services Coordinators, Rose Baker and Andrew Weda. Rose and Andrew are ambassadors for the park, here to assist with everything from answering questions on your walk to making sure your birthday party at the pavilion goes smoothly.
Rose has a degree in Art History and Italian from the University of Memphis, and also works in visitor services at the Brooks Museum of Art. Her interest in art and her work at the museum cultivated a love for events, and she has been putting her creativity to use in planning this year’s Day of Merrymaking festival.
Rose lived near Overton Park in college, and it has been close to her heart ever since. “I love helping other people make that same connection,” she says. “When I work with someone on a family reunion or a birthday party, I’m helping them build memories in a beautiful, green, safe place.”
Andrew recently graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in Professional Studies, minoring in Nonprofit Management. He started working with the Conservancy last year as an intern via the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, and we were thrilled to bring him on as an employee when he completed the program.
“Overton Park is beautiful and peaceful, and it’s amazing that you can find this in the middle of Memphis,” Andrew says. He recalls a time when he was speaking to a park visitor who was practicing cartooning when a member of the park cleaning crew approached. They discovered they shared the same interest, and agreed to get together to help each other out. “That’s what parks should be,” Andrew says. “People from different walks of life coming together to build relationships.”
If you see Andrew or Rose in the park, stop and say hello. You never know who they’ll connect you with!
