Randall's Island Park Alliance Fielding Dreams Gala 2018

NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Randall's Island Park Alliance (RIPA) will honor Rick A. Parisi, award-winning landscape architect, and Abby Wambach, Olympic gold medalist and Women's World Cup champion, at its Fielding Dreams Gala on March 14, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.

Rick A. Parisi, RLA, FASLA, CLARB, Managing Principal of MPFP, an internationally renowned landscape architecture and urban design firm, was the lead designer and team leader for the Randall's Island Field Development Project – one of the most ambitious field production projects ever undertaken in the United States. During Mr. Parisi's 30-year career, he has designed and managed many notable projects in the United States and around the world including Battery Park City World Financial Center, The USTA at Flushing Meadows, Fordham University at Lincoln Center, Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, The Yards in Washington DC, The Cyber City Hub in Gurgaon India and several projects in Japan, Israel and India.

Olympic gold medalist and Women's World Cup Champion Abby Wambach will be the recipient of RIPA's annual Champion for Children Award. The Award recognizes outstanding athletes and sports organizations for their commitment to providing New York City's children with opportunities to lead healthy active lives. Ms. Wambach is the all-time leading scorer in international soccer history (male or female) with 184 career goals. She was the United States' leading scorer in the 2007 and 2011 Women's World Cup tournaments and the 2004 and 2012 Olympics, missing Beijing in 2008 due to a leg injury. Throughout her career and in her personal life, Ms. Wambach has been dedicated to the advancement of women in leadership roles and has been a voice for gender equality in all facets of life. 

Sunil Gulati, former president of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and current Michael Dakolias senior lecturer in economics at Columbia University, will introduce Ms. Wambach and present her with the Award. Elected U.S. Soccer President in 2006 and re-elected in 2010 and 2014, Mr. Gulati has more than 30 years of experience at all levels of soccer in the United States and has helped the sport rise to new heights. A native of Allahabad, India, Mr. Gulati has played an important role in the development of U.S. Soccer since the early 1980s and has been intimately involved in the rise of the U.S. National Teams to prominence. Mr. Gulati balances his academic work with numerous responsibilities within the sport of soccer worldwide.

The Fielding Dreams Gala 2018 will be emceed by Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, CNBC's chief international correspondent and co-anchor of Power Lunch, one of CNBC's longest-running shows. Ms. Caruso-Cabrera has done extensive reporting from Latin American countries including Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and recently Cuba Ms. Caruso-Cabrera joined CNBC in 1998 from WTSP-TV in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she spent four years as a general assignment reporter covering crime and hurricanes.

"Since 1992, the Alliance has partnered with the City, local communities and our generous supporters to transform Randall'sIsland Park into an innovative and exciting destination for sports, recreation, environmental exploration and cultural events. Thanks to the generous support of our trustees, business and community partners at events like our annual gala, we have been able to restore 330 acres of parkland, including critically needed playing fields and world-class athletic facilities, for the use and enjoyment of all New Yorkers, especially our youth.  Randall's Island truly is where New York goes to play," said Aimee Boden, President of Randall's Island Park Alliance.

The evening will begin with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and a speaking program. 

The RIPA Fielding Dreams Gala 2018 is Co-Chaired by Lucy Fato, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of AIG, and Justin G. Hamill, Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Vice Chairs include Michael Boxer, Rodney Cohen, Mark Greene, Justin Green, Fred Harner, Leslie Myers, Carol Perry, and Sherri Williams. Dinner Committee Co-Chairs include Melissa Boxer, Jenny Slayton Green and Christine Mack.

To purchase tickets to the Fielding Dreams Gala 2018, please visit https://gala.randallsisland.org or contact the Gala Office by phone: 212.829.0002 or via email: ripa@sharpthink.com.

About the Randall's Island Park Alliance:
The Randall's Island Park Alliance (RIPA), founded in 1992, is a public-private partnership with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation that seeks to realize the unique potential of 330 waterfront parkland acres anchoring Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens. RIPA works with the City and local communities to provide an innovative and exciting destination through a wide range of sports venues, cultural events and environmental exploration. As the dedicated steward of Randall'sIsland Park, the Alliance sustains, maintains, develops and programs the Park to sup­port the well-being of all New Yorkers. The Park offers miles of waterfront pathways, almost nine acres of wetlands, an urban farm, a track and field stadium, a golf center, a 20-court tennis center and over 60 new playing fields, as well as the Harlem River Event Site. For more information, please visit http://www.randallsisland.org.

Media Contacts for RIPA:

Jennifer Wainwright
Randall's Island Park Alliance
212-830-7722
Jennifer.wainwright@randallsisland.org

Melissa Sheer
Kent Place Communications
917-690-2199
melissa@kentplacellc.com

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SOURCE Randall’s Island Park Alliance