Jesse Washington was appointed as Director of Recreation and Parks for the City of Richmond, California in September, 1999 after a long career in the leisure profession.
Prior to his new appointment, he was the Administrator of Recreation and Community Services to the Conejo Recreation and Park District in Thousand Oaks. He previously held positions with the cities of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Irvine, Santa Monica and Berkeley.
Jesse earned a Bachelor's of Arts degree, majoring in recreation administration, from California State University at San Francisco and his Master of Science degree in his major from the same University in 1972.
He frequently lectures at meetings of various community organizations, churches, high schools and local colleges. He served as president of the National Recreation and Park Ethnic Minority Society from 1992 to 1994 as well as a California Recreation and Park Ethnic Minority Association past president and board member. Additionally, Jesse has served as a committee member on the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Recreation Administration Advisory Council.
Jesse has been bestowed numerous honors for his efforts including the National Recreation and Park Ethnic Minority Society Administrator of the Year and Service Awards, Sports Person of the Month of the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table, President's Award by the California Park and Recreation Society, and a special recognition award by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
He is a member of the National Recreation and Park Association, the California Association of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. In 1997, Jesse was the president of California Park and Recreation Society, a statewide elected position with over 2,700 members. He was also elected to the NRPA Board of Trustees in 1999, and will be president of the Pacific Southwest Regional Council.