Our Founder

The Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy (FMPCP) was founded in 2002 by Patricia (Pat) M. Dolan, who grew up in Kew Gardens Hills. Much of her free time was spent on the many committees and boards she was a part of, but she also worked in public service as her day job.

Dolan was the director of Queens Connection at the Kew Gardens Community Center, and organized transportation for senior centers and advocated for better public transportation for everyone in the borough. She was instrumental in working with former Borough President Helen Marshall in raising millions of dollars for the Kew Gardens Hills Library, founded the Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association, directed the Queens Network at the Queens Community House for 15 years, and served for 20 years on Community Board 8.

Together with a group of civic leaders, Dolan recognized the need for an organization devoted to the restoration and preservation of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park (FMCP). In April 2012, the nature trail at Willow Lake was dedicated as the Pat Dolan Trail, in recognition of her 20 years of service and advocacy on behalf of local communities.