> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # NORD CEO Finalists Field Questions on Privatization, Audits and Aging Parks Before Thursday Vote - URL: https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/nord-ceo-finalists-field-questions-on-privatization-audits-and-aging-parks-before-thursday-vote/ - Published: 2026-10-08T02:07:31.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T02:28:36.000Z - Description: The two finalists to lead NORD took live questions from residents Wednesday night on privatization, audits, pools and aging parks, after public comment centered on opposition to an outside aquatics proposal. The NORD Commission votes Thursday. - Author: Kim M. Braud - Tags: News, All Stories, NORD NEWS *Patrice A. Bell and Corey K. Wilson each took more than half an hour of live questions from residents at City Hall on Wednesday night, after a public comment period dominated by opposition to an outside aquatics proposal.* By Kim M. Braud | October 7, 2026 --- NEW ORLEANS - The two people competing to lead the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission stood before residents tonight and answered questions about pool schedules, volunteer coaches, park maintenance, fundraising and whether NORD's programs could be handed to private operators. Patrice A. Bell, chief administrative officer of Louisiana Gateway Port, and Corey K. Wilson, former superintendent of the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC), each gave a roughly 10-minute presentation in the City Council Chamber and then took questions from a line of residents at the podium. The NORD Commission is scheduled to reconvene tomorrow at 5:30 p.m., take public comment, move into executive session and then take up a motion to appoint the next chief executive officer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1836.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1834.jpg) ## How the search got here Before the forum, the commission read the search timeline into the record. The NORD Foundation issued a request for proposals for an executive search firm in June 2026 and selected AMCorp International in July. A national search ran from July 17 to August 17. AMCorp collected 255 public surveys, seven written responses from community and institutional stakeholders, and 48 staff surveys. It held an in-person community meeting on August 19 with about 50 participants and a staff session on August 20 with about 25\. The firm screened 176 applicants and identified 10 semifinalists, who were interviewed by a panel using the same eight questions and a standardized scoring rubric. Four potential finalists were selected on September 22 based on the highest average interview scores. Background checks followed, and two confirmed they intended to move forward. The [City announced Bell and Wilson as finalists on September 29](https://nola.gov/next/mayors-office/news/articles/september-2026/2026-09-29-nord-commission-announces-two-finalists-for-ceo/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). Both interviewed with the commission and the mayor Wednesday morning and met with the City Council, NORD staff and the NORD Foundation before the evening forum. The format differed from what the City first announced. A [September 2 release](https://nola.gov/next/mayors-office/news/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com) said finalists would answer questions submitted in advance. The September 29 schedule called for a 20-minute live question period per finalist. On Wednesday, each finalist was given 35 minutes of live questions, with one minute per question and three minutes per answer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1877.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1852.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1850.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1847.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1835.jpg) ## Public comment: the pools The commission's regular meeting preceded the forum, and its public comment period centered on NORD aquatics. Speakers opposed a proposal they attributed to the leader of The 18th Ward, a nonprofit that already partners with NORD, to take over programming at NORD's indoor pools and train 10,000 children in water safety through a public-private arrangement. Allison June, a water aerobics participant, said NORD already offers swim lessons for children and adults and that trained lifeguards and water safety instructors take years to develop. She described a classmate who learned to swim at 92. Tammy Jones said the proposal duplicated programs NORD already runs and said the department's real constraints were a hiring freeze and facility maintenance. She said her objection was not personal and that The 18th Ward has done good work in the community. Anne, a longtime New Orleans teacher, credited the commission for posting commissioners' email addresses and improving real-time closure notices on its website, then tied the proposal to the post-Katrina conversion of the city's public schools. The chair said about 14 additional comment cards had been submitted stating opposition to the aquatics proposal. A youth football coach also used public comment to say he had been suspended for two games and could not get an incident report or a callback from NORD staff. The commission referred him to staff for follow-up. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1838-1.jpg) ## What the interim CEO reported Earlier in the meeting, NORD leadership presented a summer report. NORD invested $293,826 in teen programs, opened 14 of its 18 seasonal pools, hired 107 seasonal lifeguards between June and July, and recorded 1,468 swim lesson enrollments. Fourteen new after-school partners joined 13 returning ones across 13 recreation centers. The report also laid out the oversight the next CEO will inherit. The Office of Inspector General released an athletics oversight report in September and a park maintenance audit is expected later this fall. The Bureau of Governmental Research is examining NORD's relationship with the Department of Parks and Parkways, and the mayor's NORD Reform Task Force is expected to recommend changes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1858.jpg) ## Patrice A. Bell Bell described herself as a lifelong NORD participant and a NORD parent whose two daughters danced and played volleyball in the system and later taught classes and worked as summer counselors. She has held roles at Xavier University of Louisiana and as public information officer and marketing director at the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. She outlined a 180-day plan beginning with 60 days to listen, stabilize programs and processes, and secure facilities, followed by aligning staff, volunteer and financial resources. > I will not overpromise immediate change and improvement. Melissa Francis of Step Up Louisiana asked Bell to commit to keeping NORD centers from being privatized. Bell said privatization was not a conversation she had had with anyone about NORD, and that she would not bring the passion she had described if it were something she intended to pursue. Asked whether parks would stay free for school children, Bell said she had no intention of adding fees for school use or for NORD summer camps, though fees for outside camps using NORD facilities could depend on their cooperative endeavor agreements. On extending outdoor pool schedules, Bell said she would assess it and would be open to it if staffing, money and attendance supported it. Asked about plans for Joe W. Brown Park in New Orleans East, she said it would be premature to present a plan before meeting with the communities that use it. She told a former NORD Foundation executive director that she was familiar with the city's green space master plan but had not read it cover to cover. A resident pressed her to keep the City Council's appropriation inside NORD rather than distributing it to partners. Bell said she would review existing cooperative endeavor agreements to make sure they benefit NORD and the community. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1882.jpg) ## Corey K. Wilson Wilson, a New Orleans native raised in the Desire development, is a Harvard Law School graduate and certified park and recreation professional. He was a finalist for the NORD job in 2018 and became BREC superintendent weeks later, leading a system he described as more than 175 parks, about 1,000 employees and a $100 million budget. He cited BREC's 2022 national gold medal award and the passage of two BREC tax propositions in 2024. The first questioner asked about Baton Rouge news coverage, a $275,000 salary figure and BREC's audits. Wilson said he was paid $175,000 when he started and that a later board set the pay of his successor at $275,000\. On the audits, Wilson said BREC filed balanced budgets as required by law, but that several audits were late. He attributed the delays to new software, COVID, the death of a chief financial officer and having the wrong people in finance roles. > I do take ownership for that. He said a new CFO was hired and the audits are now caught up. The same questioner asked whether he had a recommendation from Cedric Richmond. Wilson said he and Richmond went to Morehouse College together, and that he reached out to Richmond, knowing he was close to the new administration, to express interest in the job. Asked how he would handle low-attendance recreation centers, Wilson said closing or repurposing would not be the first answer. He described a Baton Rouge center that partnered with a youth bike-building program to fill an underused gym. He also proposed a teen council and said NORD's service numbers should be measured against the city's demographics. Wilson said he had not read the city's green space master plan before the mayor asked about it that morning and read it afterward. On the media, he said bad news tends to draw more readers than good news and that NORD should publish its own stories, including about problems, before reporters find them. ## What is next The commission reconvenes Thursday to take public comment and vote on an appointment following an executive session. ## How to follow this - **Who decides:** The NORD Commission, chaired by Kyle Walker. - **When:** Thursday, October 8, 2026, 5:30 p.m. City Council Chamber, City Hall, 1300 Perdido St. - **Agenda:** Posted at [nordc.org](https://www.nordc.org/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). - **Public comment:** Comment cards were collected in the chamber Wednesday. - **The record:** NORD Commission meeting materials and minutes are posted at [nordc.org](https://www.nordc.org/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). - **Contact:** Commissioner email addresses are posted on the NORD website. --- *Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South. Her reporting focuses on government accountability, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities.* *© 2026 Evans Cutchmore Press. All rights reserved.* --- [SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSROOM](https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/subscribe/) [VIEW OUR PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY](https://evanscutchmorepress.pixieset.com/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com)