The man behind many enhancements enjoyed by visitors at Golden Gate parklands

Greg Moore takes a late-afternoon stroll in San Francisco’s Crissy Field. Families are enjoying the beachfront space, joggers are taking advantage of prime running weather, and other park guests are documenting their adventures with photos.

It hasn’t always been like this. The site used to be a grand prix racetrack and later a military airfield, leaving behind a wasteland of pavement and debris. But thanks to some $34.4 million in contributions, the efforts of more than 3,000 volunteers, and three years of leadership by Mr. Moore and his nonprofit organization, the space now stands as a treasured component of the national parklands abutting downtown San Francisco.

“Crissy Field was basically covered with asphalt, chain-link fence, rubble on the shore, and toxic contaminants,” says Moore, who has been at the helm of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy for more

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