WSPP Team
Betsy Waite, Director
“I’ve lived in over 10 cities during my adult life - the City of Gainesville offers something truly unique. You can tell just by walking around Gainesville how much this city cares about its parks and nature. Thank you, voters, for allowing us to continue to create exceptional wild spaces and public places.”
Betsy Waite, Wild Spaces & Public Places Director
As Wild Spaces & Public Places (WSPP) Director for the City of Gainesville, Betsy Waite is responsible for the implementation of the City’s Recreation Master Plan and 352Arts Roadmap and manages many of the capital improvement projects supported by the WSPP funding source.
Prior to joining the WSPP Team in January of 2018, Betsy served as a Project Manager with the City of Gainesville Public Works Department. There she managed a variety of construction projects to include landfill remediation, multi-modal projects, storm water conveyance systems and roadway reconstruction in excess of $7 million annually. Employment prior to moving to Gainesville included working as a Safety Engineer for Manson Construction Company, a dredging company specializing in beach re-nourishment and channel maintenance, as well as working as an active duty Army Officer in the Engineer Branch where she performed in a variety of leadership roles to include Battalion Adjutant, Maintenance Platoon Leader, Assistant Battalion Logistics Officer and a Vertical Construction Platoon Leader. She managed construction projects both stateside and in Afghanistan while serving in the US Army.
Betsy holds a Bachelor of Science degree from West Point in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Project Management from Florida Institute of Technology. She is a professional engineer registered in the state of Florida.
Betsy Waite, P.E.
Wild Spaces & Public Places Director
Phone: 352-393-8187
Email: WaiteED@gainesvillefl.gov
Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 7:00 am–4:00 pm
Angie Gould, Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist
As Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist, Angie consults with the Wild Spaces & Public Places team and City of Gainesville leadership to develop communication plans and manage the program’s community outreach. As creator of the City of Gainesville's Wild Spaces & Public Spaces branding, she is the brand's ambassador, developing written, graphic and photographic content to enhance community awareness of the program's achievements.
She also assisted with the development of new signage standards for the city’s park system and has designed the branding and signage for over a dozen parks. Some of those parks include Abby Wambach Park, Albert “Ray” Massey Park and Oakview Park. She is currently working on a signage package for the city’s multipurpose trail system.
Angie received her BFA from the University of Florida's School of Art and Art History and an MFA in painting from Florida State University. She spent four years teaching university-level drawing, painting, figure study and digital photography in the United States and Italy. As an active member of the Gainesville community, she has been a participating artist on the Friday night art walk, a performing musician for the city’s concert series at the Bo Diddley Plaza and is a regular on the tennis courts at Albert "Ray" Massey Park. Angie has over 20 years’ experience in design and communications.
Angie Gould
Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist
Phone: (352) 393-8182
Email: GouldA1@gainesvillefl.gov
Pete McNiece, Project Manager
Pete is a life-long Gainesville resident and Buchholz graduate who went to MIT on an ROTC scholarship. During his 5 years as a naval officer in the Seabees, he completed tours in California, Iceland, and Philadelphia before moving back to Gainesville permanently. He’s a licensed Building Contractor, Professional Engineer, Real Estate Broker, and LEED Accredited Professional who’s spent his professional career managing construction projects. He enthusiastically joins the Wild Spaces & Public Places team to make a meaningful contribution to the community and looks forward to serving the residents of Gainesville as an advocate for public parks.
He’s married to Kirsty Freshwater who is a Nurse Practitioner at UF and has two daughters currently attending Emory and Duke. Pete spends most of his free time at the beach or engaged in activities that always involve the outdoors.
Pete McNiece
Project Manager
Phone: Office - (352) 393-8544; Cell (352) 514-8992
Email: McNiecePR@gainesvillefl.gov
Jody Romani, Senior Construction Inspector
Jody Romani is the Senior Construction Inspector for the Wild Spaces & Public Places program. He is responsible for conducting field inspections of complex construction work to ensure that projects are in compliance with all standards and regulations.
Jody has 30 years of municipal experience as an Engineering Assistant, Project Manager, Construction Inspector, Vehicle Maintenance Mechanic and Maintenance Utility Worker. While working for the City of St. Cloud he dealt with the National Flood Insurance Program, ISO/CRS Community rating system requirements and NPDES MS4 permitting. Jody is a certified Stormwater Operator and licensed water distribution operator.
Jody Romani
Senior Construction Inspector
Phone: (352) 393-8531
Email: RomaniJM@gainesvillefl.gov
Laura Voitle, Logistics Coordinator
Laura Voitle was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan and has lived in Gainesville since the 4th grade. She graduated from Gainesville High School and obtained her AA in Business Administration from Santa Fe College.
With over 25 years of experience in administrative support roles, she brings her knowledge to the Wild Spaces & Public Places program. She worked at Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) for nearly 18 years where her motto in Energy & Business Services was “Saving the world one kWh at a time”. Her most recent title at GRU was Business Services Administrative Coordinator where she was responsible for the coordination of all administrative tasks in Energy Delivery.
As the Logistics Coordinator, she is responsible for coordinating contracts, procurement functions, compiling data and preparing reports. She loves the outdoors and is excited to continue serving the Gainesville community.
Laura enjoys playing billiards and word games, completing various craft projects and spending time with her husband, two daughters and two bonus sons (and other family members and friends). She is also a notary public and officiates weddings in the State of Florida.
Laura Voitle
Logistics Coordinator
Phone: (352) 393-8372
Email: voitlelm@gainesvillefl.gov