Ryan P. Cambridge
About Ryan
A distinguished graduate of Purdue University, Ryan is a practicing Professional Landscape Architect – and self-professed “parks geek” – who serves as the President of both the Friends of Overley-Worman Park (a 501 C-3 non-profit) and FRMWRK Planning + Design in Indianapolis.
Ryan graduated with honors from Purdue University, where he received multiple scholastic awards including the nomination of University Olmsted Scholar from the Landscape Architecture Foundation, a Student Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architecture, and an Award of Merit from the National Honor Society of Agriculture.
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Passion for the power of the public realm
Ryan spent the first half of his career working under the leadership of David Barth, PhD.; one of the nation’s leading writers and researchers on parks systems planning and analysis. It was in Dave’s park planning studio where Ryan discovered his passion for the planning and design in the public realm; the network of “public” places and spaces which stitch a community together and serve as the gatekeeper for its quality of life. Parks - a critical component of any public realm - have been a consistent conduit for this passion.
Over the 15 years, Ryan has helped lead the development of more than 15 parks-specific systems planning efforts for municipal and county governments across the United States, which together represent nearly $1B in future “public realm” investment. Ryan has also been privileged to help facilitate the implementation of dozens of individual parks and public spaces with a combined construction cost exceeding $250 million, and has facilitated more than 100 public meetings and/or workshops.
Focus on funding
Since 2018, Ryan has helped local municipalities secure over $250 million in voter-approved bond funding dedicated to parks and public realm improvements through ballot-based funding measures. As part of these efforts, Ryan worked with the Trust for Public Land’s Conservation Finance Division, local non-profits, political action committees, municipal governments, and multi-disciplinary consulting teams.
Research network
Throughout his career, Ryan has been afforded the privilege of working with – and learning from – distinguished management and research partners such as the Trust for Public Land, The Project for Public Spaces, the National Recreation and Park Association, the Urban Land Institute, and The National Park Service. An avid traveler, Ryan has visited and studied parks and public spaces in over 20 countries across the world.
Ryan is proud to be an active member of the Urban Land Institute’s Health Leaders Network and serves as a parks and public spaces “expert” for ULI’s Advisory Services Program, which provides technical assistance for communities and organizations across the world facing land use challenges. He is also a member of the Project for Public Spaces Placemaking Leadership Council.
Ryan is also an active researcher on the topics of parks and place-led, public realm planning and design, speaking at conferences across the country advocating for the transformative power of parks!
Taking it out of the office
Ryan’s passion for parks and the public realm extends out of the office and into his community, where he is an active member of multiple professional organizations. He is currently the President of The Friends of Overley-Worman Park, and has previously served on the Board of Directors for both the Indiana Parks and Recreation Association and The Parks Alliance of Indianapolis (formerly the Indianapolis Parks Foundation).
