About Us

Our Story

Friends of Fonde Park (FOFP) began as a passionate, volunteer-led initiative born out of the leadership of Fonde Civic Club. After serving as the president of FCC for a number of years, and seeing the impact an organized community through a civic club has with the city, FOFP's founder Karina issued a call to the leadership of FCC to start a new organization to care for our neighborhood park, honor Corinne Fonde's motto of recreation as a means of civic engagement and care for our neighbors who do not yet have a civic club. The main drivers to start FOFP were to make sure the community's voice drove park usage and improvements and the reactivation of SN69 to organize and advocate for the greater community outside the Fonde neighborhood. From these grassroots origins, we have evolved into a professionalized Houston-based nonprofit dedicated to serving Superneighborhood 69 (Gulfgate Riverview / Pine Valley,  Fonde). Our journey is defined by a transition toward "Infrastructure for Impact," where we leverage local greenspace to drive long-term community resiliency, environmental justice, and civic engagement.

Mission & Vision

• Mission: To preserve, improve, and activate Fonde Park as a community hub for recreation, environmental stewardship, and neighborhood health.

• Vision: To build a community where physical health is linked with civic power, and where residents play a powerful role in the systems that impact their environment and neighborhood.

Our Impact

We serve a high-need urban corridor characterized by a diverse 87% Hispanic population. Because our neighborhood is divided by major rail lines and high-traffic highways like Spur 5, we focus our work on three strategic pillars:

• Environmental Justice: Leading collaborative science projects, such as our Community Air Monitoring Project, to track air quality and health symptoms near major transit corridors, advocating against redlining.

• Community Health: Operating the Friends of Fonde Walking & Running Club and the annual Fonde Fit 5k/1k race to provide non medical drivers of heath and further community organizing.

• Civic Engagement: Reactivating the SN69 neighborhood association through relational organizing, voter mobilization, and leadership development.

Meet Our Team

Staff Our organization is led by a professional Executive Director who oversees our strategic growth, development, operations and ongoing partnerships with funders, government, and university entities. Our staff is supported by our university interns and by collaborating non-profits and city, county and state leadership as well as our awesome volunteers.

Board of Directors The FOFP Board of Directors provides critical governance and oversight, ensuring the organization maintains fiscal stability and follows IRS best practices for leadership sustainability. We are currently looking for additional Board members to spearhead our "Founders Circle" campaign to secure the future of our neighborhood infrastructure.

Interns We are proud to be supported by a dedicated team of interns who help drive our programs forward:

• Valerie Zhang is a current sophomore at Rice University studying Managerial Economics with a minor in Creative Writing. She loves problem-solving and analyzing financial data to utilize in business strategies, and hopes to later on work within the finance sector while engaging the community. In her free time, she likes to bake, read, and go to the gym.

• Sadhana Chari is a junior at Rice from Lovett College pursuing Bioengineering with a Data Science minor. She is interested in interdisciplinary healthcare work and understanding healthcare holistically. As a native Silicon Valley resident, Sadhana is especially passionate about understanding the role of technology in both creating and breaking the status quo. Through site leading, she hopes to provide a platform for students interested in understanding the sociopolitical determinants affecting health disparities and community living standards. 

• Njwi Acho is a sophomore at Rice University from Will Rice College studying Business and Korean. She is passionate about social issues and has worked in local politics in Memphis. She is eager to work with grassroots groups to learn what environmental resistance looks like and how to better advocate for change in an effective and intersectional manner. As a native Memphian and co-site leader, she is looking forward to developing collective learning environment and bring awareness to Memphis' rich history of civic engagement.

Our Mission & Vision

Governance & Transparency

FOFP maintains a diversified revenue stream, including grants from various non-profits, foundations, individual donations, and in-kind services. We utilize data-driven decisions and relational meeting data to prove our impact to donors and ensure every dollar supports our goal of a healthier, more engaged community.

Our Commitment to Transparency

    Friends of Fonde Park is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 11.18 of the Texas Tax Code.

    Download our Bylaws (links to the Bylaws PDF)