Daniela Paz Peterson Promoted to Trust for Public Land’s Tennessee Program Director for Belonging Strategies

Longtime community engagement specialist and advocate Daniela Paz Peterson is now the Tennessee Program Director for Belonging Strategies for the Tennessee office of Trust for Public Land (TPL).

Peterson’s key responsibility will be to drive programs that encourage a sense of inclusion and belonging throughout TPL’s initiatives in Tennessee. This involves fostering relationships with local organizations, government agencies, nonprofits, the arts community, and neighborhood leaders to create inclusive environments.

A native of Chile, Peterson holds a degree in Social Work from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso She joined TPL as a Creative Placemaking Fellow in 2018 and most recently served as its Community Strategies Senior Advisor. Among her achievements are the East Lake Free Family Photo Day, a project offering professional photographs for families in their local park, and the Park Listeners Program, focused on community input in park planning.

Her work has gained national recognition, earning her awards such as the Footprint Foundation’s Footprint Award (2019), La Paz Chattanooga’s Latino Leadership Award (2017), and TPL’s Will Rogers Fellowship. She serves on the Board of La Paz Chattanooga, ArtsBuild, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, and the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga.

“Working alongside members of the Chattanooga community to help connect more families with the rich benefits of parks and high-quality public spaces has been both my profession and my passion for years,” says Peterson. “I’m honored to accept this new role with TPL and eager to find ways to continue the important work we’ve begun in neighborhoods like Alton Park, Oak Grove, and everywhere else.”

“Chattanooga has been on a tremendously strong growth trajectory for years, which makes our mission of creating and protecting public space more essential,” says Noel Durant, TPL’s Tennessee State Director. “As we do more of this work locally, particularly in partnership with our public schools, and across the rest of the state, it’s equally essential that we be intentional about how we include families of all kinds and from all neighborhoods. There is simply no better person for this job than Dani Peterson.”

About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the
benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 3 million acres of public land, created more than 5,000 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected more than 9 million people to the outdoors. In Tennessee, TPL has protected over 21,000 acres while connecting nearly 30,000 people to a park within a 10-minute walk. To learn more, visit tpl.org.