New Orleans City Park's top leaders resign for Texas jobs

The big picture: Cara Lambright is leaving for a job at an unspecified park in Texas, according to a press release.

• For the past 3.5 years, she has been the CEO and president of the City Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that operates the park. Tuesday was her last day in the role.
• She said she is leaving because she wants to be closer to family and job openings are rare in her field, according to Joni Hess with NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.

Meanwhile, City Park COO Chris Maitre recently left to become CEO at San Antonio's Brackenridge Park Conservancy, according to another press release.

• He oversaw the daily operations at City Park, Brackenridge's press release said. Before that, he was the deputy athletics director for Tulane.
• He starts July 8 in San Antonio.

State of play: The City Park Conservancy last year began working toward a "bold re-envisioning" of the 1,300-acre park that spans from Mid-City to Lakeview.

• The previous master plan from 2005 focused on rebuilding the southern half of the park, Randy Odinet, the vice president and chief planning officer at the conservancy, previously told Axios.
• The new plan focuses on the northern half of the park: Couturie Forest, the golf courses, the lagoons and the acreage on the lakeside of Interstate 610.
• Users so far have said they want more access to nature and easier and safer ways to get around the park.

Yes, but: A tentative plan drew ire when a proposed multi-use promenade replaced the Grow Dat Youth Farm.

• Grow Dat is an urban farming nonprofit that works primarily with young New Orleanians of color to teach them about growing food and developing their interpersonal skills.
• Grow Dat's lease will expire in 2027, and City Park does not plan to renew it, according to emails obtained by Verite.
• Both groups told Axios in April they were talking and hoping for a long-term resolution, but a plan to move forward has not yet been publicized.

What's next: Rebecca Dietz is the conservancy's new president and CEO, effectively immediately, the group said.

• Dietz previously was its vice president and the chief administrative officer.
• She's also worked for Audubon Nature Institute and the city attorney's office.

Go deeper:

• Learn more about the "Wooded Island" proposal at City Park.
• Grow Dat Youth Farm's future uncertain at New Orleans City Park.