Chelsea Phipps, Greenways and Gardens Program Coordinator for the City of Greensboro

Dabney Sanders, Downtown Greenway Project Manager for the City of Greensboro

Downtown Greenway Opening

About Chelsea:

Chelsea Phipps has served as the Greenway & Gardens Program Coordinator with Greensboro Parks and Recreation since June 2022. In this role, she oversees all activation of the Downtown Greenway, including programming and events, community engagement, volunteer initiatives, partnerships, and communications. She collaborates with more than 150 local businesses, non-profits, sponsors, and community groups to deliver nearly 200 free program offerings each year – creating accessible opportunities for residents and visitors to connect with the Downtown Greenway and with one another.

Since stepping into this inaugural role, Chelsea has helped grow the Downtown Greenway into a vibrant hub for health and wellness, arts and culture, environmental education, local history, and community connection. Her work centers on building meaningful partnerships, expanding participation, and ensuring the Downtown Greenway remains an inclusive and welcoming public space for all.

Prior to joining Greensboro Parks and Recreation, Chelsea spent 18 years in higher education and collegiate recreation, serving in leadership and program development roles at four universities across the United States and Canada. She holds a Master of Science in Recreation and Park Administration from East Carolina University and a Bachelor of Education in Sports, Tourism and Hospitality from the University of Alberta.

Outside of her professional work, Chelsea is actively involved with Guilford County Schools through the Superintendent’s Family Advisory Council, the PTA, and Action Greensboro’s K-12 initiatives. She is passionate about early childhood development and literacy and volunteers with Ready for School, Ready for Life on The Basics Advisory Board. Originally from the Cayman Islands, Chelsea enjoys scuba diving, golfing, traveling, and spending time outdoors – preferably at the beach – with her wife, Phelan, and their two children, David and Addyson.

About Dabney: 

Dabney works as the Project Manager for the Downtown Greenway – a collaborative project of Action Greensboro and the City of Greensboro. Action Greensboro is a nonprofit organization of foundations dedicated to projects that enhance business recruitment efforts and community vitality in Greensboro.  As project manager of the Downtown Greenway, Dabney oversees & coordinates all activities related to the creation of the $54+ million, 4-mile loop including design, fundraising, construction, communications, and public art.

Dabney grew up in Rhode Island and came south to attend Sewanee: The  University of the South. She graduated with a major in Natural Resources (Forestry & Geology) and a minor in Botany in 1987.  After living in Charlotte  and working at Wing Haven – a public garden and bird sanctuary, she moved to Greensboro in 1999 with her husband, Walker, when he joined the Foundation of Greater Greensboro as its President.

In addition to her work, Dabney is involved in a number of volunteer activities. She serves as the chair of the Weatherspoon Art Museum Council. She is the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of the Greensboro Literary Organization that produces the annual festival Greensboro Bound and partners with Guilford County Schools to bring authors and books into the schools. In addition, she serves on the board of the Public Art Advisory Committee for the Piedmont Triad International Airport, and Light the Way Capital Campaign committee for UNCG’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. She is past Chair of the Triad Stage Board of Trustees. She is a former member of the Eastern Music Festival Board, the Weatherspoon Art Museum Association Board and is a former member and President of the Board of Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art (and now Board Member Emeritus) and the Public Art Endowment Steering Committee at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. Dabney has served as committee member and chair of numerous fundraising events for a variety of non-profit organizations. Dabney has a passion for food, is a self-taught cook, and has cooked professionally in the past, but now enjoys entertaining for friends, family, and to support community organizations.

Dabney was recognized by the Triad Business Journal as a 40 under 40 recipient, and was selected as a finalist for the Knight Foundation Public Space Fellowship in 2019 and was named the 2019 Jim Roach Downtown Person of the Year by Downtown Greensboro. Dabney and her husband, Walker received the 2023 Adelaide F. Holderness/H. Michael Weaver Award – UNCG’s highest award recognizing exemplary public service to Greensboro and the greater community. Most recently, Dabney was awarded the 2025 Thomas Z. Osborne Distinguised Citizen Award, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce’s highest honor.

Dabney enjoys Greensboro and lives happily in historic Fisher Park with her husband Walker, their dog Scout, new puppy Ajax, and their chickens Adelaide and Emma.

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