TSP Hosts Fellows First In-Person Program Retreat
The Skatepark Project recently hosted the TSP Fellowship Program cohort for their first in-person program retreat in San Diego, CA. The advocacy training and project design program aims to build more knowledgeable, diverse, and equipped skatepark advocates, designers, and programmers and has already helped our first group of 12 fellows make a positive impact in the social skate space.
The trip allowed the fellows to connect IRL and see firsthand what it takes to create and maintain quality community skate spaces. They kicked things off with a tour of Hawk HQ and the TSP offices, then headed to CEMEX to learn about an essential public skatepark component: concrete. Next, the fellows met with fellowship mentor and skatepark designer Kanten Russell at Poods Park in Encinitas, CA. There, they toured California Skateparks training facilities and got a behind-the-scenes look at digital mock-ups with fellowship mentor Evan Edan and his team.
The fellows then popped over to Nixon HQ to learn more about partnership building and brand marketing before wrapping up their trip at the TSP offices to record a podcast episode and hang out with special guests Steve Caballero and TSP Board Member Brent Eyestone.
The camaraderie between the fellows was unmistakable. Their enthusiasm proved how impactful it is to center this program around BIPOC advocates and provide invaluable tools and resources to learn new skills in a shared passion.“This program offers a chance for these fellows to dream in a way that may have felt inaccessible in the past. Skateparks are more than recreational spaces for play. They are safe and inclusive places for congregation, building confidence, forming community, and overcoming obstacles”, said Nicole Humphrey, TSP Fellowship Program Associate.
Skateparks Are Just the Beginning — Help Us Build What Comes Next!