Executive Director – Liz McCoy
Liz McCoy
Executive Director
Q: How long have you worked here and what drew you to the job?
McCoy: I celebrated my four-year anniversary with the park in November of 2023. What drew me to the park was the desire to match my talents, which is to create entertainment experiences, with my passion, which is to activate downtown and to make sure downtown Jacksonville is the most vital and energetic space it can be.
When I was an entertainment executive in New York City for 17 years, I was producing and touring theatrical shows and concerts throughout the country. In 2010, there was a little bit of a late hit from the economic crisis and I got laid off from my job. Ticket sales were lagging with the events we were doing and the company I worked for was in a financial pickle.
In reevaluating my life, I began visiting friends in Jacksonville and I thought well, Jacksonville doesn’t yet have revitalization on the scale of my hometown Raleigh, North Carolina, but it can. So it took me some time, but I did take a job here in Jacksonville at the performing arts center. That was a nice entry point into the downtown community, but this job is in the heart of downtown. Everybody comes through the park, City Hall is the front door, and we work with so many fabulous partners that are all about the downtown revitalization. So it married my background of entertainment with my desire to be a part of this revitalization that is still going on, but getting there. It’s not where we need to be yet, but everybody says what we need is population density and that’s coming with all the new residences that are being built right here in the urban core.
Q: What does your job involve?
McCoy: My job is to create the vision with help from my staff, board, and partners, and to get everyone excited about what we’re doing. That’s the short answer. The long answer is there’s fiscal oversight, human resources oversight, and there’s advocacy. There’s also the fundraising part of my job since the city funds us only for basic maintenance and operations of the park. Fundraising is an important part of my job so we can continue activating the park with events and music and fun stuff. I also see myself as a cheerleader, both internally keeping the troops rallied, and then keeping the public excited. I’m the wearer of most hats and fortunately I have a fantastic staff that supports these efforts.
Q: What is your favorite spot in James Weldon Johnson Park?
McCoy: My favorite spot in the park is the flowerbed that’s on the northwest corner of the park, which has what’s called the neighborhood totem by RouxArt. It’s a very lush and tropical spot like our Florida landscape. It has this beautiful totem that lists every neighborhood in Jacksonville, which to me is perfect to have within James Weldon Johnson Park because this is the city’s front door, the people’s park. It’s where we can all come and be together.
