The New England Dog Park Coalition is a group which was started to provide shared information to groups who are building or who maintain existing dog parks and other venues for dogs around the 6 New England states. We also hope to leverage “the power of many” with vendors, working with the different organizations who want/need things in order to share costs and potentially get discounts by consolidating orders for multiple groups.
Finally, we aim to have a yearly conference which affiliate groups can participate to learn from experts and each other’s shared experiences.
Organizational Documents
The Board of Directors
Karen Cirillo
Clerk, Director
Karen Cirillo
Karen is a former Lowell City Councilor who "chaired" the Environmental, Arts and Culture, and Neighborhood Subcommittees. While being a City Councilor, she put forth motions on improving the dog parks in Lowell. She also worked very hard to create a healthier environment for her constituents. She currently works in construction for a civil company. She volunteers every week at a farm animal sanctuary. Helping animals is always a way to improve this world that we live in. It is very important work.
Will Wagner
Will is the Founder of the organization, and the current President of the Board of Directors.
Will got involved with the Chelmsford Dog Association in 2009 and worked with the board as a Director and the Town of Chelmsford for 7 years to et the Chelmsford Dog Park funded and built. Once the park opened, he took over as the President and led the organization in fundraising, maintenance, and enhancements for the Chelmsford Dog Park. In 2019, Will started to think on a wider scale as he saw more dog parks open around the state of Massachusetts. The original group was called the Mass Dog Park Coalition and was set to have it's first meet-up in 2020 - until COVID. Post COVID-shutdown, Will started visiting the parks around the Massachusetts and the other states around. Talking to people at those parks, he realized that the need for shared information was just as great for the groups running parks in the other states, and so he expanded the mission to cover the parks in all 6 New England states and incorporated the group as a formal organization.
Will's current dog is Maizey (a rescue originally from Mississippi) and she has LOVED helping him in his goal of visiting every dog park in New England. (As of 1/1/25, their count is that they have visited 245 of the 301 parks). He is passionate about improving the experiences for dogs and helping other people as well.
Jennifer Jackson
Treasurer, Director
Jennifer Jackson
Jenn brings over 20 years of experience in competitive dog sports to her dog training and instruction. A skilled K9 Nosework® instructor, she has a proven track record teaching various disciplines, from basic obedience and pet tricks to CGC/Therapy dog and agility. Her experience also includes service dog training. Jenn's own dogs are a testament to her expertise. Her Labrador Retriever, Indie, competes at the highest levels of NACSW scent work and holds titles in agility and obedience. Her Dalmatian, Fenna, is also a high-level NACSW competitor with scent work titles, along with novice agility titles, a CGC, and an FCAT2.
