Tiff Cunin

Tiff Cunin (they/them) is a Senior Manager for Health at the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) where they manage multiple bodies of work including healthy aging and youth mentoring in parks and recreation.  

Parks and recreation, an integral cog in the public health system, are essential to improving health outcomes and strengthening community vitality. NRPA seeks a future where the full power of parks and recreation is widely recognized for creating a better life for everyone by building strong, healthy and resilient communities. At the core of this work is equity. Tiff helps to advance this work by providing subject matter expertise in the area of transgender health research. 

Tiff, a lifelong athlete, knows firsthand the importance of gender equity in sports and how that influences safety and belonging of athletes at all levels. Tiff, who identifies as transmasculine played softball in college, followed by a lengthy rugby career, a brief stint playing Gaelic football and is now playing softball again with the Chesapeake and Potomac Softball (CAPS) League based in the Washington, DC area. Tiff is also a member of the CAPS Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee where they help identify strategies that promote a culture of inclusion, acceptance and diversity for all its members regardless of social identity and especially people of color, women, transgender and nonbinary people, people with disabilities, and others who have been historically denied the ability to participate in softball.  

In addition to being an athlete, Tiff has more than 10-years of experience as a full-time strength and conditioning coach where they worked primarily with young athletes in the K-12 and collegiate age ranges and has experience coaching high school softball and senior women’s rugby. 

Tiff is committed to social justice and has dedicated their life to serving historically disenfranchised populations, specifically the transgender community. They are currently a PhD candidate at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences where they are exploring the intersections of transgender identity and race in the realm of social participation (e.g., recreational sports). Tiff is also a member of the University of Maryland’s Prevention Research Center Community Advisory Board (PRC CAB). The PRC CAB is committed to research, services and training around issues of mental health among LGBTQ+ communities. 

When not researching all things transgender equity, Tiff can be found surfing, snowboarding, backpacking and traveling. Tiff has lived all over the world, but they currently call Silver Spring, Maryland home with their partner Carolyn, and their two cat children, Hobie and Sprinkles.  

“I am going to put myself out there to be who I needed when I was younger” – Chris Mosier 

“It is revolutionary for any trans person to choose to be seen and visible in a world that tells us we should not exist” – Laverne Cox