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TO OUR READERS: John Parr died in a tragic auto accident in December 2007. This page is remaining temporarily posted for all readers interested in background on his life. See also the commentary prepared at that time.
John Parr is one of America’s foremost counsellors in the area of collaborative government and citizen involvement. He has served as the president/CEO of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, coordinating and leading efforts to advance regional agendas across the United States. Parr is also co-founder and principal of Civic Results — formerly the Center for Regional and Neighborhood Action (CRNA) — a Denver-based nonprofit that brings energetic urban neighborhoods to the table in collaborative regional strategies to improve the quality of life of all residents. From 1985-1995, Parr gained renown as the innovative leader of the century-old National Civic League (NCL) - America’s premier organization working to improve local and state government and promote a strong role for citizens. At NCL, Parr enlisted Henry Cisneros and later John Gardner as board chair. He ushered in such projects as the Healthy Cities Program and the Alliance for National Renewal, and developed the concept of civic infrastructure and the civic index as a measuring tool for communities. Under his leadership NCL expanded its work to Eastern and Central Europe. Parr is an attorney with extensive experience in public administration, strategic planning, mediation, and political organizing. He is a Lecturer in the Graduate School of Public Affairs of the University of Colorado at Denver. He has also taught in programs at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Denver. Parr’s articles have appeared in publications ranging from the University of Chicago Policy Review to The Consensus Building Handbook. Parr remains active nationally as a Fellow of the National Academy for Public Administration, chair of the Pew Civic Entrepreneur Initiative, a trustee of the Institute for the Regional Community, and a commissioner of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority. In the 1970s, Parr played key roles in the campaign and administration of Gov. Richard Lamm. He directed the Colorado Front Range Project, a public-private long-range planning effort on growth issues in Colorado’s 200-mile urban corridor. Later he headed the transition efforts for Federico Pena as the mayor of Denver. He also served on the founding staff of Common Cause’s first state chapter, Colorado Common Cause.
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