John Parr is a co-founder of the Denver-based Center for Regional and Neighborhood Action (CRNA), that created CIVIC RESULTS, a non-profit organization that assists governments, businesses and non-profit institutions collaboratively plan and implement initiatives that create measurable change in the physical, social, civic and human infrastructure of communities and regions.
He also severed as President/CEO of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, a national network of practitioners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors that are using metropolitan or rural regional approaches for community problem solving, until June 2006. John is an associate of the Citistates Group working on issues of regional governance in the United States.
He is a licensed attorney with extensive experience in public administration, strategic planning, mediation, public interest group management and political campaign organization.
He is a Lecturer in the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado. He has taught in programs at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Denver. Articles he has written have appeared in publications ranging from the University of Chicago Policy Review to The Consensus Building Handbook.
From 1985 to 1995 Mr. Parr served as President of the National Civic League (NCL) an organization devoted to the improvement of political and governmental institutions and processes and community problem solving. Founded in 1894, the organization is best known for its work in state and local government and intergovernmental relations, including model city and county charters and sponsorship of the annual All-America City awards. Under his leadership NCL expanded its work to Eastern and Central Europe.
He is a Fellow of the National Academy for Public Administration, president of Denver Friends of Public Montessori and on the board of the Downtown Denver Partnership.
Previously, he was Director of the Center for Public-Private Sector Cooperation, a technical assistance and research center at the University of Colorado at Denver that develops, encourages and publicizes cooperative problem solving efforts and helps define criteria for successful partnership activities.
In 1983, Mr. Parr was Transition Director for Mayor Federico Peña of the City and County of Denver. He was director of the Colorado Front Range Project, a public-private long range planning effort on growth issues in Colorado's 200-mile urban corridor started by Governor Richard D. Lamm. During the late 1970s he served as an assistant to Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm. In 1974 he directed the field organization of the campaign to elect Lamm governor of Colorado. He also served on the founding staff of Common Cause's first state chapter, Colorado Common Cause.
Mr. Parr earned his J.D. from the University of Denver, College of Law in 1977 and his B.A. in Political Science from Purdue University in 1970
His wife, Sandra Widener, a former newspaper and magazine publisher, editor and reporter, is a freelance writer. They have two daughters: Chase - 17, and Katy - 15.
