Coletta is recognized as a national leader in urban development, public space enhancement, and community engagement. With a profound understanding of the intricate dynamics between city design, culture, and public policy, she has spent her career improving cities and creating spaces that foster economic vitality and community identity. In 2023, Coletta was named one of the Top 100 most influential urban innovators in history. “If Carol’s doing it, you’re doing something at the absolute cutting edge,” says Richard Florida about Coletta’s work in cities across the US. Get tickets to attend the Great Cities Symposium here.
Coletta has served as president and CEO of the Memphis River Parks Partnership since 2017, a public-private partnership responsible for 5 miles of public property along the Mississippi River in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. In 2023, the city of Memphis and the partnership celebrated the opening of Tom Lee Park, a newly transformed 30-plus-acre riverfront park running along the Mississippi River. Designed by Studio Gang and SCAPE, with substantial community engagement and concept planning, the park is the centerpiece of the city’s riverfront and a national model for well-designed, welcoming and ecologically restorative urban parks.
In addition to the iconic park, Coletta oversaw the development of the River Line, a 4-mile bike-ped riverfront trail connecting to a wider system of trails in the region. In August 2024, Coletta announced that she will be leaving that role soon, having finished four major projects in only six years.
Prior to her work on the Memphis riverfront, Coletta served in leadership positions with the Kresge Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. At Kresge, she led a $50 million+ collaboration of national and local foundations, local nonprofits and governments to reimagine the civic commons in five cities. It was the first comprehensive demonstration of how a connected set of civic assets – a “civic commons” – can yield increased and more widely share prosperity for cities and neighborhoods. At Knight, she managed a portfolio of more than $60 million annually in grants and a team of 18 in 26 communities to drive success in cities, including the inquiry into the value of economic integration on America’s cities and how to achieve it.
Coletta also led the two-year start-up of ArtPlace, a unique public-private collaboration to accelerate creative placemaking in communities across the country. Under her leadership, ArtPlace focused on integrating arts and culture into the fabric of community planning and development. Coletta was instrumental in promoting projects that transformed neighborhoods and fostered a sense of belonging. “Carol’s vision for public spaces goes beyond aesthetics; it’s about creating environments that enhance the human experience,” says John Eger, a prominent figure in the field of communications and public policy.
Earlier in her storied career, Coletta served as president and CEO of CEOs for Cities. There, she rallied leaders from various sectors to collaborate on solutions that addressed pressing urban challenges. Her work emphasized the necessity of data-driven decision-making in urban policy and the importance of civic engagement in fostering thriving cities. Coletta also served as executive director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Conference of Mayors and American Architectural Foundation. While leading the Institute, she helped city leaders understand the value of design thinking in tackling urban challenges.
Needless to say, Coletta has a wealth of knowledge to share with Jacksonville’s city, business, and non-profit leaders, along with the average Jaxson who is simply interested in seeing a better Jacksonville. The evening includes drinks, hors d’oeuvre, and Q&A. The annual program is hosted by Scenic Jacksonville, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the natural and built environment of Jacksonville. See event details.