Park News
Shawn Jackson Named as Kaleidoscope Park Executive Director
Frisco-based leader of Dallas Arboretum brings decades of nonprofit leadership
FRISCO, Texas (May 16, 2024) – The Board of Directors of the Frisco, Texas-based Kaleidoscope Park Foundation has named Shawn Jackson as the Park’s new Executive Director. Jackson comes to Kaleidoscope Park from the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, where she has served for more than a decade in a variety of roles, most recently as Chief Operating Officer and interim CEO. Jackson will begin her new role at Kaleidoscope Park on May 28, 2024.
During her 11-year tenure at the Dallas Arboretum, Jackson made a significant impact on the growth and development of the Arboretum. Her key accomplishments include facilitating volunteer and community engagement for the opening of the Rory Meyer’s Children’s Adventure Garden, bringing the Arboretum’s dazzling new holiday experience to life and ensuring that the Arboretum remained solvent during the pandemic. She also served as the Arboretum’s interim CEO during its national search for a new leader.
Jackson plans to use her accomplishments and skills to impact the completion and opening of Kaleidoscope Park, which is slated for later this year. She will also be integral to Kaleidoscope Park Foundation’s fundraising efforts, securing major gifts and future naming rights to ensure the sustained growth and success of the Park.
“One of my greatest joys is helping bring a project to life and see it to fruition, and then to watch guests light up as they experience the creation you helped to build,” said Shawn Jackson. “Kaleidoscope Park provides a blank slate with virtually limitless programming opportunities. I can’t imagine a more exciting time to be in Frisco and to lead this team.”
In her capacity as the Chief Operating Officer at Dallas Arboretum, Jackson served as a key liaison between the Arboretum’s stakeholders, including the City of Dallas, the Dallas Parks & Recreation Board, and the Dallas Arboretum Board of Directors. Her unique skills in building collaborative relationships is a key reason Jackson was selected by the Kaleidoscope Park Board of Directors.
“It was important for us to find a leader for Kaleidoscope Park who understood both the City of Frisco and Collin County and could deftly navigate the nuances of a public-private partnership such as this one,” explained the Honorable Florence Shapiro, Kaleidoscope Park Foundation’s Board Chair. “Shawn has spent the last two decades as a Frisco resident and raised her family here. She has a clear vision of how the city and its residents, as well as the region overall, can enjoy and utilize Kaleidoscope Park as a destination in their daily lives.”
As a part of the committee that selected Jackson to lead Kaleidoscope Park, Communities Foundation of Texas CEO Wayne White saw in Jackson a unique set of skills and competencies perfect to bring this important project to fruition.
“Shawn is a seasoned executive with an incredible track record that will directly benefit the work of the Park. The depth of her knowledge in building, executing, and scaling operations and programs will take the work of Kaleidoscope Park to the next level as we chart towards the opening of the Park and beyond,” said Wayne White, president and CEO at Communities Foundation of Texas.
Jackson sees great possibilities in what Kaleidoscope Park will bring to the community.
“As a Frisco resident, I’ve watched the development of Kaleidoscope Park with great excitement. We’ve never had a public green space like this in Frisco,” Jackson said. “The collaboration among all of our stakeholders, including the City of Frisco, Kaleidoscope Park Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, and HALL Park is very important and a key to our recipe for success.”
Kaleidoscope Park is made possible through a public-private partnership among Kaleidoscope Park Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas and the City of Frisco. This partnership provides the synergies required to develop such a unique asset and destination. The Park is part of a larger development that includes The Monarch at HALL Park residences, HALL Park Hotel, The Tower at HALL Park office building and a new eatery.
The nearly six-acre Kaleidoscope Park is located near the intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and Warren Parkway in Frisco, Texas, and in neighboring distance to The Star, Stonebriar Centre, Legacy West, The Shops at Legacy and The Boardwalk at Granite Park, and is destined to be a landmark enjoyed by all of North Texas.
ABOUT KALEIDOSCOPE PARK
Kaleidoscope Park is a dynamic, innovative arts and culture destination for North Texas currently under construction. The Park will be home to free, year-round public programming, including films, diverse musical and dance performances, and a variety of health and recreational activities. The Park will feature monumental works of public art, architecture, and gardens set among a children’s play area, dog park, performance lawn, outdoor workspaces, and shaded promenades and plazas. Learn more at kaleidoscopepark.org.
ABOUT THE KALEIDOSCOPE PARK FOUNDATION
Kaleidoscope Park Foundation is a nonprofit public-private partnership between Communities Foundation of Texas and the City of Frisco. The Foundation’s mission is to thoughtfully engage the diverse and rapidly growing communities of North Texas through free public arts and culture programming that is genuine, inclusive, and accessible. Operating as a Foundation supported by private donations, financial support for development, operations, and programming is always welcome.
ABOUT COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS
The mission of Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) is to improve the lives of all people in our community by investing in their health, wealth, living, and learning. CFT works to accomplish this by growing community giving, expanding community impact, and advancing community equity. With a vision of building thriving communities for all, CFT works locally and across the state with many individuals, families, companies, foundations, and nonprofits through a variety of charitable funds and strategic grantmaking initiatives. CFT professionally manages more than 1,300 charitable funds and has awarded more than $2.5 billion in grants since its founding in 1953.
CFT is committed to serving and understanding donor needs, expertly handling complex gifts, wisely managing charitable funds, and leveraging its community knowledge to increase charitable impact, in addition to powering several initiatives including the W. W. Caruth, Jr. Fund at CFT, CFT for Business, Educate Texas at CFT, Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy at CFT, GiveWisely, and CFT’s North Texas Giving Day. CFT’s North Texas Giving Day raised $64 million on a single day in 2023 to help over 3,250 North Texas nonprofits. Learn more at www.CFTexas.org.
ABOUT HALL PARK
A pioneering development in Frisco since the mid-1990s, HALL Park today encompasses 2.2 million square feet of office space throughout 15 completed buildings. One-third of the park is dedicated to green space and includes three miles of walking trails, over 200 works of art including the Texas Sculpture Garden, the largest private collection of contemporary Texas sculpture made available to the public. In October 2021, its developer, HALL Group, commenced construction on the first phase of its new masterplan development that will evolve HALL Park into a dynamic mixed-use community. Upon completion, the full masterplan–anticipated to span 20 years of development–will encompass approximately 9.5 million square feet of usable mixed-use space with a projected value of around $7 billion. Learn more at hallpark.com.