Phuong Named Interim Commissioner of Atlanta Parks & Rec

Patch Staff Report

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has appointed Amy Phuong as interim commissioner for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Phuong also currently serves as the city’s chief service officer, where she helps to engage Atlantans in community service and channels volunteers towards the greatest areas of need. She also oversees Mayor Reed’s Centers of Hope initiative. Phuong replaces former commissioner George Dusenbury.

“Amy Phuong brings the right expertise to help the Department of Parks and Recreation meet the long-term goals of my administration,” said Reed in a news release. “I am confident that her experience, vision and exceptional commitment to public service will help deliver on our promise to expand recreational opportunities and green space for our city’s children and families”.

In 2010, Amy was named the city’s first chief service officer, a position funded by a $200,000 Cities of Service Leadership Grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Over the last four years, Phuong has increased volunteerism, developed new partnerships with business and philanthropic leaders, and helped to launch the city’s first Centers of Hope pilot programs at Adamsville and Thomasville Recreation Centers in conjunction with the Metro Atlanta YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. She also helped to raise $5 million to support robust youth programs at these Centers of Hope locations.

Phuong is a graduate of Georgia Tech, and has held board positions with Keep Atlanta Beautiful and the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta’s Cole Society.

Phuong will serve as interim commissioner while the Administration conducts a search for a permanent replacement.