Dallas’ Trinity Park Conservancy named a new CEO and president Monday. Tony Moore, executive director and CEO of the Gathering Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is poised to take the reins of the organization April 5.
Moore comes to Dallas with experience working with Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the landscape architecture firm tasked with designing Harold Simmons Park. The firm also designed Tulsa’s riverfront park, Gathering Place.
Brent Brown stepped down as CEO of the conservancy in March 2020.
Harold Simmons Park will include more than 200 acres of land in the Trinity River Floodway between the Margaret McDermott Bridge to the south and the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and Ron Kirk Pedestrian Bridge to the north, as well as two overlooks on the east and west sides of the river above and outside of the levees.
The capital campaign to fund the design and construction of the park has raised more than $110 million, more than halfway to its $200 million goal.
Moore began work on Tulsa’s riverfront park for the final phase of planning and construction of the park. Gathering Place opened in 2018 and transformed more than 70 acres of riverfront into an interactive gathering place. The free park, designed by landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates — also leading the design team for Harold Simmons Park — features playgrounds, trails and open green space.
In his more than 30-year career, Moore has held senior leadership roles with SeaWorld and Universal Studios. He is a veteran leader in the parks and public attractions industry. Prior to his work in Tulsa, Moore served as the chief operating officer for Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.