Healthy Communities Project Manager Joins MPC Staff

Ben Epperson joined MPC on August 1 as the Healthy Communities Project Manager.

Working jointly with MPC and Great Schools Partnership, this brand new position focuses on placemaking in coordination with the twelve established Community Schools in Knox County. He spends much of his time in the field supporting the site resource coordinators and partners at each school, promoting healthy communities with schools at their center.

Ben came to MPC from the Knox County Health Department, where he did similar work as the Program Manager for Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities. In that position, he helped generate increased access to opportunities for healthy activities and placemaking, though it was on a smaller scale. In his new role, Ben will focus on formalizing and studying this work, ultimately creating an assessment tool that can be used by community members to evaluate the process.

For me, Placemaking is about leveraging those untapped community resources to empower citizens to make their public spaces more fun, cool, safe and beautiful.

"It’s exciting. What innovative new approaches can we undertake to create more opportunities for people to participate in planning and development? Maybe we’ll get some really cool places to play out of it too!”

While Ben is looking forward to several upcoming projects, two exciting prospects for South Knoxville are first on the list. On Sevier Avenue, a pop-up park is going in across the street from South Knoxville Elementary School. There is also an initiative to connect Dogwood Elementary to the Urban Wilderness through a series of trails. A biking school bus and bike club are under development, and plans are in place to encourage students to get exercise and take advantage of the Urban Wilderness by utilizing Baker Creek Preserve.

If you can’t find him in one of Knoxville’s many Community Schools, Ben is most likely to be found at home on Seven Islands State Birding Park. He was married just before starting his new position, and his wife Justine is the park manager. They share their home with his two daughters, Violet and Hazel.