Sarasota County government recently hired Nicole Rissler as the new director of the county's Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department. Rissler has worked for Sarasota County since 2016, when she was hired as the department's deputy director. She previously worked with Visit Sarasota County and Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates, the nonprofit that manages Nathan Benderson Park. Rissler replaces former director Carolyn Brown, who left the county in October to join the Town of Longboat Key.