Our Staff

Evelyn Sample-Oates joined the Fairmount Park Conservancy team in November
2022. As the Chief of Government & External Affairs, Evelyn supervises
and leads all governmental, legislative, and community affairs to represent and advocate on behalf of the Conservancy and Philadelphia’s parks & recreation system. She builds and maintains collaborative relationships with government officials and staff, including managing an annual calendar of briefings and update meetings.

Evelyn, a native Philadelphian, worked at the School District of Philadelphia for 12 years immediately prior to coming to the Conservancy. The first 20 years of her career were spent working in the media as a television reporter/anchor, writer, and associate producer for television and radio stations in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Evelyn graduated from American University in Washington, DC with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism. She spends her free time volunteering and giving back to the communities of Philadelphia. She currently serves as a Trustee on the National Boys and Girls Club of American Board of Directors and a Director on The Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America. Evelyn is a member of Jack & Jill of America and The Links, Incorporated, where she serves as a National Committee Chairman, as well as a lifetime member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Evelyn’s favorite park is Cobbs Creek Parkway where she grew up, and where there is a recreation center named after her late father, John B. Sample, Jr.