Robert E. Doyle
General Manager (2010 - Retired December 2020)
bdoyle@ebparks.org
Robert E. Doyle
Biography | Awards | Articles by the General Manager | Additional information
Since 1934, the East Bay Regional Park District has led the charge in creating and fostering a forward-looking agency. The Park District has provided strong governance and essential services with a focus on relevance, transparency, innovation, efficiency, and inclusion. Our steadfast advocacy for park-friendly legislation and success in collaborating across agencies, community organizations, and businesses to leverage our collective resources and knowledge has enhanced the quality of life for residents in the East Bay.
Through the decades, our long-standing priority has been to keep our parks, shorelines, lakes, and trails safe and well-maintained. More recently, to mitigate the impacts of a changing climate, our integrated adaptive management has included wildfire hazard reduction practices, lake water and algae monitoring, wetland restoration, and expansion of our network of paved trails connecting users to transit hubs, schools, and work sites.
- Passage of Measure FF with unprecedented 85.6% vote
- Passage of Prop 68
- $5.1 million for Del Valle Regional Park included in State Budget
- 116 helicopter water drops on 15 fires
- Transparency certification
- Passage of a balanced budget with enhanced funding for wildfire protection
We appreciate the public’s trust, support, and investment in this beautiful regional park system.
Biography
Robert E. Doyle is a 43+ year veteran of the parks and natural resources field who served as General Manager of the East Bay Regional Park District from 2010 to 2020. A co-chair of the California State Park Partners, he was a key advocate for advancing the successful Proposition 68, the Parks, Environment, and Water Bond to the June 2018 ballot and serves as vice-chair of the Clean Water, Natural Resources and Parks committee.
He also led EBRPD efforts to partner with National Parks on Healthy Parks Healthy People (HPHP) in the SF Bay Area – including Kids Healthy Outdoor Challenge (KHOC), Stay Healthy in Nature Every Day (SHINE), Multicultural Wellness Walks (MCWW), and other efforts to engage the Park District’s diverse communities in healthy outdoor activities.
Doyle graduated from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga with a BA in Management. He is a member of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA); the IUCN Urban Conservation Strategies Specialist Group; and World Urban Parks.
Doyle has received numerous awards and recognition for his many decades of leadership in conservation, park policy advocacy, public health and public lands, climate action initiatives and industry innovations.
Awards
- California Special Districts Association (CSDA): 2019 General Manager of the Year, General Manager Robert E. Doyle
- Bay Nature Institute (BNI): 2019 Local Hero Award: Conservation Action [PDF]
- American Academy for Parks & Recreation Administration (AAPRA): 2018 Cornelius Amory Pugsley Award [PDF]
- California Parks & Recreation Society (CPRS): 2018 Special Legislative Advocacy Award
- California Trails & Greenways Foundation (CTGF): 2009 Lifetime Professional Achievement Award [PDF]
- Save Mount Diablo (SMD): 2002 Mountain Star Award [PDF]
Articles by the General Manager
Additional information
As part of his responsibility to advance the mission and vision of the East Bay Parks, Mr. Doyle advocated for urban parks and recreation and best practices for managing public lands, garnering support nationally and internationally. He has presented at IUCN World Parks conferences, as well as at national park and public lands conferences on youth engagement, diversity, economic benefits and development, and climate resilience. He has also developed regional and state-wide park leadership groups to build coalitions of support for state and local parks. As co-chair of the statewide State Parks Partners Coalition, he was a key leader in advancing a state parks bond to the ballot for the first time in over 15 years. Mr. Doyle has testified before Congress on National Parks and the Land & Water Conservation Fund.
Mr. Doyle served as a member of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, an organization of distinguished practitioners and scholars committed to the advancement of the park and recreation field. In 2010 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from California Trails and Greenways and, in 2002, a Mountain Star Award from Save Mount Diablo. He is a member of IUCN International Urban Protected Areas Committee.
Mr. Doyle began his career as a park ranger with EBRPD and moved to the Planning & Design Department where he worked to develop a first of its kind Regional Trails Master Plan. He later became a Chief, then Assistant General Manager for Land and Planning in 1990, where he served for 21 years – leading the greatest expansion of parks and trails in the Park District’s nearly 85-year history, he co-authored two regional park bonds Measures AA (1988) and WW (2008). He was appointed General Manager by the Board of Directors in 2010.
In 1971, Mr. Doyle was a founding board member of Save Mount Diablo, a nonprofit land trust and conservation organization that serves to support the State Park; he served on the board for 25 years, with several years as Board president. Mr. Doyle was also a founding board member of the East Bay Conservation Corps and the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and served as a board member of the Bay Area Open Space Council. He has also served as a trustee for the National Association of Olmsted Parks.
Mr. Doyle graduated from Saint Mary’s College with a BA in Management. He has two adult children, two adult step-sons, and two grandchildren. Mr. Doyle is a resident of Walnut Creek, where he lives with his wife, Tina Batt.