{"id":162430,"date":"2025-08-21T00:27:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T00:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/162430\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T00:27:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T00:27:16","slug":"love-for-environment-trinity-river-brings-new-executive-director-to-fort-worth-nonprofit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/162430\/","title":{"rendered":"Love for environment, Trinity River brings new executive director to Fort Worth nonprofit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nonprofit work and environmental advocacy are two of the things Fort Worth native Lauren Deen holds close to her heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Being named the new executive director for the nonprofit organization Streams & Valleys allows her to continue pursuing both passions at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always gone somewhere where I have felt really passionate about the mission, where I could connect people to the work and really do some good for the community,\u201d Deen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Deen officially stepped in to lead the Trinity River nonprofit beginning in August. As the organization\u2019s top leader, she joins her new colleagues in working to enhance the Trinity River, which Deen considers a major asset to Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis feels like a true legacy project,\u201d Deen said. \u201cI want to leave my mark. I want to make this place better than how I found it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing 20 years of nonprofit experience to river-focused work\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lauren Deen brings a little more than two decades of experience in nonprofit work to the Trinity River organization.<\/p>\n

Deen\u2019s career began in 2004, shortly after she graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Working in development at the Fort Worth-based AlI Saints\u2019 Episcopal School, her first professional position out of college, sparked her love for nonprofit work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love with the mission where I was working,\u201d Deen said. \u201cFrom then on, I knew I wanted to work somewhere where I felt good about getting up in the morning and feeling like I\u2019m making a small difference in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deen contributed to several other local nonprofits such as the Recovery Resource Council, Texas Center for Arts + Academics, Tarrant To & Through Partnership and the Dallas-based organization Friends of the Katy Trail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her career also took her to organizations outside of Fort Worth, such as Oceana in Washington, D.C. Of all her career experiences, she considers her time with Friends of the Katy Trail a special era.<\/p>\n

As the Dallas nonprofit\u2019s membership and marketing director, Deen spent most of her time on the trail and working with local parks and recreation officials, all of which allowed her to tap into her love for the environment. When she wasn\u2019t outdoors, she worked on various projects, from managing volunteer committees and fundraisers to working on membership campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt reminds me a lot of (Streams & Valleys),\u201d Deen said. \u201cBeing out on the trails and connecting with the community was a huge part of why I loved that job.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looks forward to bringing what she learned from and enjoyed at that job and her passion for the environment to Fort Worth and, more specifically, to Streams & Valleys.<\/p>\n

Deen\u2019s \u201cdeep connection\u201d to Fort Worth and recognition of the river as a \u201cgenerational asset\u201d is what stood out the most to Streams & Valleys\u2019 board members, said the organization\u2019s vice chair John Stevenson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cProgress and improvement is not something that we can do in a day. It takes consistent leadership over the decades,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cAnd she has that. \u2026 I think it\u2019s special to have a leader that can think big picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deen was also recognized for her expertise, interest in other environmental issues and natural tendency to lead, which Stevenson considers crucial as Streams & Valleys tackles its long-term projects and goals for the river.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Lauren, we really see somebody that brings the confluence of mission, passion and the expertise to actually deliver,\u201d said Stevenson. \u201cWe\u2019re excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving forward<\/p>\n

Deen plans to build on the nonprofit\u2019s mission by focusing on its partnerships and connecting with the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since being founded in 1969 as the Streams & Valleys Committee, the organization has partnered with city officials and other agencies, including the Tarrant Regional Water District, to encourage recreation and make the Trinity River more accessible to Fort Worth residents. Although city staff are responsible for maintaining parks and the water district oversees the Trinity Trails system, Streams & Valleys is the organization that leads fundraising for trail improvement projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The nonprofit has played significant roles in projects or initiatives involving the river, such as co-founding and creating Mayfest and Fort Worth\u2019s Fourth events.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s upcoming projects include improvements going into Tilley Plaza<\/a> at Trinity Park. In an Aug. 12 meeting, City Council members approved funds to match $750,000 raised by Streams & Valleys to increase pedestrian accessibility and connectivity, more seating and enhanced landscaping to the plaza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just one of the projects coming down the pike that we\u2019re really excited about,\u201d Deen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moving in and out of Fort Worth over the years, Deen noticed the river\u2019s impact on the city as development, including parks and trails, has sprung along the riverfront.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that the community is really embracing it, and I want to continue to do that,\u201d Deen said. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge asset for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

As named in Streams & Valleys\u2019 50-year master plan<\/a>, the nonprofit will be largely focused on expanding trails and connecting systems to the river from all parts of the city and continually contributing to the $1.16 billion Panther Island \/ Central City flood control project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a big vision and we\u2019re excited to watch as Lauren helps us deliver on that,\u201d Stevenson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n

Republish This Story<\/p>\n

\"Creative<\/a><\/p>\n

Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nonprofit work and environmental advocacy are two of the things Fort Worth native Lauren Deen holds close to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":162431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,7371,7372,93946,358,41105,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-162430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fort-worth","10":"tag-fortworth","11":"tag-streams-valleys","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-trinity-river","14":"tag-tx","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115063923900715345","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}