Wahl Named Executive Director of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable

The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) Board of Directors announced the appointment of Jessica Wahl as executive director. Wahl brings a decade of experience navigating the halls of The White House, Department of the Interior (DOI), Capitol Hill, state recreation offices and outdoor lifestyle businesses, said the group.

Prior to the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, Wahl directed Outdoor Industry Association’s outdoor recreation portfolio in Washington D.C. She is also the co-founder and past-chair of the Coalition for Outdoor Access working to reform outfitter and guide permitting systems within federal land agencies. Before OIA, Wahl worked at DOI in the Office of the Interior Secretary where she managed First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Outside! and Let’s Move! in Indian Country initiatives.

Wahl joins ORR on January 7 and will succeed Derrick Crandall, the long-time president of American Recreation Coalition (ARC) and current ORR president.

Since the April 2018 announcement of the merger between ARC and the Outdoor Recreation Industry Roundtable that formed ORR, Crandall has led the integration of the two entities. After a short leadership transition, Crandall will step down from ORR but continue to consult on ORR’s Partners Outdoors and Great Outdoors Month programs as well as continue his distinguished career as the ORR board representative for the National Park Hospitality Association.