Justin Drwencke Steps Into Leadership Role During Critical Time for East Lansing Parks

Expectations of government and the ways residents interact with local programming are rapidly changing in the world and East Lansing is no exception, new East Lansing Parks, Recreation and Arts Department Director Justin Drwencke told East Lansing Info.

In March, Drwencke was named director of the parks department after serving as the interim director since July 2025. Before then, he served as assistant director of the department since September 2024.

As the parks department navigates how to provide programming and services across the city’s parks and community facilities under the shadow of an anticipated major funding cut in the city’s budget, Drwencke said the department is facing an opportunity for reinvention.

In late 2025, East Lansing voters rejected a millage that aimed to increase property taxes in order to guarantee funding for the parks department in anticipation of the city gutting its share of the general fund in the budget, which will be approved on May 26. A recommendation made by the city manager late in the budget season, which has been met by approval by members of the City Council, includes a nearly $390,000 cut to the parks department, which oversees amenities like the Hannah Community Center, Family Aquatic Center, athletic fields and courts and other government facilities.

The cut is largely to offset costs associated with the department’s before and after school childcare program and Aquatic Center during the next fiscal year. To prevent any single program or facility from increasing fees dramatically to absorb the cut, Drwencke proposed dozens of small adjustments to make up the difference. 

Conversations about how to preserve parks programming far predate the millage failing, Drwencke said. He hopes residents continue to share their priorities and hopes for programming going forward, as the department navigates budget constraints.

“Maybe there’s ways that we could refine or innovate or update programs a little bit. And so I think that that work would likely be happening regardless of our budget situation … I think we do have to kind of continue to look at what are people looking for from our programs, and what else exists in the world that people might be comparing us to,” Drwencke said. “I’m hopeful that we will continue to be able to ask kind of those introspective questions and come up with ways to continue to deliver the same quality of programs and services that our community members have come to expect, but maybe meeting different needs that didn’t exist a few years ago.”

It’s not the first time the parks department has had to innovate, Drwencke said, reflecting on how only a few months after he joined the department at the end of 2019, working in community event coordination, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

It was the East Lansing Jazz Festival that largely connected him to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, Drwencke said, having played in Michigan State University’s marching band and having served on the festival’s advisory board when he worked at the MSU Federal Credit Union.

So when a full slate of events in the city planned for 2020 were dashed by the pandemic, Drwencke said the department got creative with innovative events like a virtual Jazz Festival.

That’s the hallmark of Drwencke’s profound commitment to the East Lansing community, his ability to step up to challenges that go beyond the typical scope of leadership and creatively problem solve, Drwencke’s predecessor, former parks director Cathy DeShambo said.

“Justin is an absolute joy to work with. His critical thinking skills, his passion for the work, he is so committed to community and community building,” DeShambo said. “I feel just so confident about the leadership of the department moving forward, even with the difficulty with the city’s budget right now.”

Turnover of city employees and leaders has been a concern for East Lansing in recent years as some city leaders lament that institutional knowledge is not being retained, while recruiting new employees has been challenging. So to see someone like Drwencke, who went to school in the area and has stuck around and worked at the park’s department for several years, retained is a positive thing, East Lansing Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission member Adam DeLay said.

Drwencke has been a great communicator with the advisory commission and brings a clear passion for growing the city’s service to its residents, DeLay said. And as Drwencke works to complete his Master of Public Administration degree from Cornell University, DeLay said it shows commitment to evolving to the developing needs of East Lansing.

As the advisory commission considers efforts to promote green infrastructure, storm water management solutions, traffic safety measures and more, the parks department is in good hands for someone to advocate for investment during the budget process, DeLay said.

“You’ve got someone who wants to be in the position, has a history, and therefore some institutional knowledge and then again, just a passion,” DeLay said. “To me, it really comes down to, if the person wants to be there and has goals and things that they want to do, that’s going to go a long way.”

The parks department is a very large department, DeShambo said, and it requires management of many people with a complex budget. It takes a lot of critical thinking skills from its leaders and demands flexibility in responding to problems as they arise.

One moment where Drwencke rose to the occasion that stands out to DeShambo was in the aftermath of the 2023 shooting on MSU’s campus where three students were killed and several others were injured. The parks department opened up the Hannah Community Center to MSU to coordinate counseling services the next morning.

All the individuals in the department were responsive in the care of the East Lansing community in the face of tragedy, DeShambo said, but she remembers just how much care Drwencke put into ensuring the city did all it could to navigate the community through such a dark moment.

“I remember very clearly that that first day, that very long, hard day, Justin, just quietly shining in that moment and just really behind the scenes, taking care of things without drawing any attention or needing to be told thank you, just knowing what to do in the moment, taking care of it for the community,” DeShambo said. “And I think that really speaks to who Justin is and what kind of leader Justin is, and that just always really stuck with me, because I think that that city government needs that kind of leadership, that quiet yet bold leadership that’s really driven by integrity and care for the community and I believe that Justin has those qualities and we’re just I think we’re really fortunate as a community to to have Justin in the city.”