Jo Burns is widely known for her work bringing together professionals from parks, recreation and public health. She is the co-founder of the Public Health/Parks & Recreation Collaborative of Colorado. Over the past several years the collaborative has focused on common interests and mutual impact areas, such as reducing obesity and chronic illness, increasing opportunities for physical activity, improving access to healthy food and beverage choices, and developing walkable, livable communities. Throughout the development and steering of the PHPR Collaborative, she has acquired and utilized many collaborative leadership skills and techniques. She has been bringing people together to create “uncommon connections” across disciplines for 7 years. Jo is a Parks & Recreation professional with 20+ years of experience in community, camp, association and higher ed settings, and continues to be a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS). With numerous public speaking engagements and critically acclaimed workshops, Jo is a recognized expert in parks and public health arenas.