Public Safety Sprint

In 90 days, the EpicJax sprint team will increase park activation in Jacksonville by 25%.

About This Sprint

The EpicJax Sprint Team, a coalition of local leaders from nonprofits, businesses, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the City of Jacksonville, has set an ambitious goal: to make Jacksonville the safest city in the country.

Through the EpicJax 90-Day Sprint process, this team selected the Epic Idea, "Activating Parks by 25%", as a high-impact, low-effort solution to quickly improve safety and community engagement in public parks. An Epic Idea refers to a tangible idea that can be tactically implemented to make progress toward a specific target. This particular initiative begins with two pilot locations: Lonnie C. Miller Sr. Regional Park and Johnnie W. Walker Park & Community Center.

The strategy integrates infrastructure improvements, enhanced security measures, and community programming to transform these parks into safe, active hubs of connection and resilience. Each recommendation includes Quick Wins, ensuring immediate visible progress while larger, long-term projects are implemented. To support the efficient execution of these recommendations, we propose a coordinated 90-day sprint to streamline implementation, ensuring quick and lasting improvements that maximize impact.

Sprint Team

90-Day Sprint Co-Chairs:

  • Abel Harding, First Horizon Bank*
  • Charles Griggs, City of Jacksonville

90-Day Sprint Members:

  • Russell Baker, Wingard*
  • Christi Bamford, Jacksonville University
  • Terrance Brisbane, Beaver Street Enterprise Center
  • David Garfunkel, LIFT JAX
  • Marcus Haile, Literacy Alliance of Northeast Florida
  • Bill Haley, Family Foundations
  • Mia Jones, Agape Family Health
  • Sgt. Adam Kinard, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
  • Ronnie King, Scratchwerk*
  • Ann-Marie Knight, UF Health Jacksonville
  • Josh Martino, Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q*
  • Gerard Mayers, CSX
  • Angela McGuire, United Way of Northeast Florida
  • Vic Micolucci, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
  • Kimberly Morrison, Sulzbacher Center
  • Ashli Nixon, Basis
  • Hannah Oberholtzer, Thrive Scholars Jacksonville
  • Twyla Prindle, Us and Our Children
  • Lorne Richardson, Year Up Jacksonville
  • Alex Rudnick, Genesys Works
  • Lynn Sherman, City of Jacksonville
  • Caleena Shirley, Black Business Investment Fund
  • Angela Strain, WeCareJax
  • Marlo Zarka, Blue Zones Project Jacksonville