In 1981 Amy Charlesworth began her career in parks and recreation at the Rolling Meadows Park District. She was hired as an Ice Arena Supervisor / pool manager and then moved into the recreation department as a recreation supervisor. In 1988 she was promoted to Superintendent of Recreation overseeing the operations of the Recreation Department. In 2002 Amy was promoted to Executive Director.

In her twenty-seem years in the field of Parks and Recreation, Amy has volunteered for a variety of professional affiliations. She got her start volunteering with the Suburban Parks and Recreation Association, serving as its president in 1992. Amy has also been an active volunteer for the Illinois Park and Recreation Association serving the Recreation Section on various committees, she was selected as the Recreation Section Professional of the year in 1993. She was the Recreation Section Director in 1996 and the Recreation Section Representative to the IPRA Board of Directors in 1998-99. She is a Past-Chairman of the Illinois Park and Recreation Certification Board; she served on this board for nine years. In 2002 Amy was honored by IPRA with a Meritorious Service Award. Amy has been the Chicago Metro Representative to the IPRA Board, this year she is the Past-Chairman of the Board. Amy is also a member of the board of directors of the Great Lakes Regional Council of NRPA.

Amy says:

"As workers in the field of Park and Recreation many of us were called to community service by vocation, we knew that this was how we wanted to spend our work life. Others working in this field come from different disciplines that have a vital tie to the operations of parks and recreation and what is needed to grow and develop our agencies. Together we work to build our communities. Over the years my involvement in IPRA has helped me to develop both my strengths and weakness as a professional. I have learned from educational sessions that seem to be tailored to meet my needs, I have gained insight from professionals with more experience than myself, and I have benefited from the friendships that I made along the way. IPRA provides a way to connect individuals to the parks and recreation community. Involvement in this professional association offers opportunity gain experience and knowledge that we can bring back to the communities that we serve. I encourage you to get connected to the association - I guarantee you will advance as a professional. "