He had served in interim role since late January
Shawn Yeager has been named director of Sarasota County’s Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department, county staff announced late in the afternoon of June 30.
Yeager had served as interim director of the department since former Director Nicole Rissler won County Commission approval in late January to replace Mark Cunningham as an assistant county administrator, as The Sarasota News Leader reported.
With more than 30 years of public sector experience, as noted in a county news release, Yeager also has logged “over a decade of service with the county.”
In his new role, the release says, “Yeager is responsible for overseeing the department’s operations, including more than 150 park sites and 55,000 acres of managed and preserved land.”
County Administrator Jonathan Lewis credited Yeager’s “experience leading the department’s day-to-day operations, along with his deep background in environmental stewardship and natural resource management,” as providing Yeager a wealth of insights as Yeager takes on this “critical role,” the news release adds.
“Shawn has spent three decades in this field,” Lewis pointed out in the release. “He’s helped manage everything from barrier island state parks to red tide recovery efforts to major capital projects, and he’s done it while keeping our environmental resources and our residents’ experience at the center of every decision,” said Lewis in the release. “He also prioritizes the efficient use of funds that the Sarasota County Commission invests in our system,” Lewis added. That kind of range is rare, and it’s the type of leadership that is needed.”
Yeager perhaps has been most visible to the public this year in three appearances before the County Commission to present information regarding the proposed purchase of the 2.04-acre, former Boatyard property on Stickney Point Road, just east of Siesta Key.
On May 5, the board members finally voted 4-1 — with Commissioner Tom Knight in the minority — to purchase the parcel for $18.1 million.
Yeager had reminded them that day that their 2024 Strategic Plan called for staff to work on more boating access and “possible opportunities for the county to create more.”
The June 30 news release also notes that Yeager’s selection as the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department director offers him an “important opportunity to continue advancing the department’s strategic priorities and strengthening the county’s parks system.”
“Our department is tasked with providing recreational, natural and cultural resource-based opportunities and amenities for our community and visitors,” Yeager explained in the release. “My motivation is to provide our amazing and dedicated team of park professionals with the resources they need to accomplish our mission of clean, safe, and accessible parks with diverse opportunities for all,” he added.
Yeager earned a Bachelor of Science in recreation and natural resource management from the University of Florida, the release says, and he is a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional.
An undated Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources document that the News Leader reviewed, which was related to the department’s having won accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA), of the National Recreation and Park Association, said that while Yeager was attending the University of Florida, he “spent time volunteering for the Florida Park Service and interning with the National Park Service. After graduation,” it continued, he worked for the YMCA as a site director and then accepted a park ranger position “with the Florida Park Service [FPS] at Honeymoon Island Administration (made up of 5 barrier island parks in the Gulf of Mexico) in 1996.”
The document added that Yeager “was promoted to Park Services Specialist at Honeymoon Island Administration and then to Assistant Park Manager for Caladesi Island State Park and Anclote Key Preserve. In 2006,” it continued, “he was promoted to the Operations Management Consultant II position within the FPS District 4 Administration. After a total of 20 years working for the FPS, he was hired by Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources department as the Beaches and Water Access Division Manager in 2016 and then promoted to Senior Manager 3 years later.”
The document further noted, “Shawn and his wife Sharon have lived in Sarasota since 2006. He enjoys fly-fishing, hiking and donuts.”
In response to a Sarasota News Leader inquiry, the county’s Human Resources Department reported in a July 1 email that Yeager’s salary is $158,000 a year. Rissler, who had been director of the department since November 2018 before her promotion, had a starting salary of $115,136. She had been serving as interim director since early October 2018, as the News Leader reported at the time.
For more information about the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department, call 311 or 941-861-5000, or visit sarasotacountyparks.com.