The man behind the city agency that helps move Baltimore forward in more ways than one

Director Reginald Moore could have been a doctor with at least a decade of experience by now.

Instead, the Atlanta native is nearing nine years as the head of Baltimore’s Department of Recreation and Parks — making him the longest serving director since at least 1990, according to the department.

The role requires overseeing a long list of city amenities, including 21 indoor and outdoor pools, nearly 50 recreation centers and 130 playgrounds. Moore said he is fueled by a vision that includes preserving public spaces and continuing to create equitable access to programs and facilities.

His approach seems to be paying off. Baltimore is a finalist this year for the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation Management.

Stepping into a role where people historically didn’t stay long meant that Moore faced the usual questions: How long are you going to be here? Are you here just to build a résumé? But department employees praise his collegiality and good cheer.

“Beyond money, you have to invest in the people that work for you to keep them committed and focused,” Moore said.

Moore, 53, wanted to be a doctor and received a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from Georgia College & State University, as well as a master’s in public administration.

Coaching sports has always been his passion, though. When he got an opportunity to be the athletic director for Macon-Bibb Parks and Recreation Department, he fell in love with the work and found his niche, he said.

Then Baltimore had an opening. Aside from then-Mayor Catherine Pugh, who interviewed him in 2017, Moore’s family of five didn’t know anyone in Baltimore.

“We came to Baltimore and people just opened their arms and they received us,” Moore said.

As an executive director for the agency of roughly 1,000 full-time and part-time employees, Moore’s salary is $234,269 in fiscal year 2026, according to the city budget.

Tamara Speaks, Moore’s executive assistant, sees him as engaged in the work and appreciates that he doesn’t just show up when things go bad.

You’re likely to catch him at AFRAM or a robotics competition among young people. “He’s not one that’s just behind a computer,” Speaks said. “He likes to be out connecting with the community.”

No two days are the same for the director. But on the hectic days, he bakes a cake.

Baking is one of Moore’s pastimes, and he can nerd out over how ingredients interact and experiment with recipes. The director often watched his grandmother make cakes from scratch, he said. He draws a bit of inspiration from the internet for recipes, but often tweaks them to get the moisture just right. He’s still perfecting his favorite, a red velvet cake.

There’s a bit more time for baking since he recently finished a Ph.D. sports leadership program at Concordia University Chicago.

One Friday at his office in Druid Hill Park, a line snaked around Moore’s desk and out the door as employees waited to cut into his homemade Key lime and lemon cakes. Which is better? It depends on who’s asked, but not a crumb of the multilayered cakes with homemade frosting returned home with Moore.

“The reward for me is, one, is to show your staff that you care, but two, is the reactions that you get,” said Moore as an employee snagged the last slice of cake.

Moore said his agency is constantly finding ways to keep the city moving.

When COVID-19 hit, the agency turned some of its buildings into student learning centers. When there’s a snowstorm, park maintenance helps plow streets and forestry workers might be on standby for fallen trees. If there’s a homelessness crisis, the agency also opens its spaces, Moore said.

Yet, Moore often hears complaints that there aren’t enough recreation centers or that the department isn’t providing enough activities.

Moore understands that it’s challenging for longtime Baltimoreans who remember the city having over 100 recreation centers in the 1980s.

They’re still here — just not on every corner, he often says.

Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott recently toured the newly renovated Chick Webb Memorial Recreation Center in East Baltimore that features a teen lounge, a sound booth for creating music and an indoor track and pool.

Four more recreation centers are expected to open this year. And one of the department’s biggest projects — a reimagining of Druid Hill Park with a fishing pier, shorelines, an amphitheater, swimming area, cafe and boathouse — is in the design phase.

Mary Kathryn Haynes, one of the longest-serving recreation and parks employees, remembers the heyday of rec centers. She and her nine siblings played sports, learned to fish and were always on the hunt for new extracurricular activities at their neighborhood center.

Haynes saw many directors come and go over her almost 50 years with the agency. She said she views Moore as a visionary who makes sure that recreation employees are recognized for what they do.

That also includes advocating for funding and investments.

During a recent town hall, the mayor said the recreation and parks department’s budget has increased by 41% since he took office.

“History will tell you that most of the time when City Hall gets into tough budget decisions, rec and parks historically has been the first place they go to cut,” Scott said. “We cannot allow it to happen again.”

Scott added that regardless of Moore’s poor choices in sports teams — Moore is a Dallas Cowboys fan — the director understands that recreation is about more than sports.

Moore recently took a walk around the loop at Druid Hill Park, discussing what’s to come with its renovations and upgrades. Just as he reached the corner that overlooks Druid Park Lake Drive and features the Moorish Tower, he stopped and took in the view of the city.

“I will be in Baltimore as long as I’m allowed to be in Baltimore to continue to do the work that I’m doing,” he said.