Park Advocate

Chris Delaporte has spent most of his life working in the fields of natural area protection, recreation, parks and historic preservation. After an education at Oklahoma State University, then as an officer in the United States Air Force, he began his civilian career as Executive Director of the North Georgia Mountains Authority, then moved on to become the State Parks Director in Oklahoma, then to the United States Department of Interior where he directed the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation and the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service. He served as Baltimore's recreation and parks director, and subsequently as the first Executive Director of the Maryland Stadium Authority.

He has consulted with local and state governments, non-profits, and private businesses across the United States about recreation and parks matters and related issues. He is co-founder of Baltimore's Parks&People Foundation, and the Care for the Children program in Oklahoma. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star, was named Public Administrator of the Year in Oklahoma in 1976, awarded the President's Award from the Nature Conservancy and the Heroism Award from the New York City Parks Department for sponsoring the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (UPARR). He is over 40 years of age and has a son, Evan, a recent graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.