Park Leaders

This episode of the Park Leaders Show digs into the audio vault and shares an audio file from the Ranger Rendezvous in 2015. I talk to 4 different park ranger about their experience with the National Park Service. One question I asked all the ranger is why they became a park ranger. It is inspiring […]

Dan Cockerell had a successful 26-year career with Disney, working his way from parking cars to the Vice President of the Magic Kingdom. Before his career at Disney, Dan spent a summer as a volunteer at Rocky Mountain National Park. Recently, Dan left Disney to make a transition into full time speaking and consulting. Like […]

David Gustafson is a lead ranger with the City of Boulder. With city parks, or parks close to cities, problems you see in cities can also spill over into parks. Homelessness is one of those problems. When a park has to deal with a homeless population, you also have to deal with the other problems that […]

Christian Beckwith is not a traditional conservationist. He will admit, he is a climber, not a conservationist. Yet, Christian founded and leads an organization in Jackson Hole, WY that focuses on conservation. But Christian doesn’t take a traditional approach to conservation. In fact, he is disrupting conservation. Through SHIFT, a live event, and the emerging […]

In order to protect parks and open spaces, we need more people who care enough to speak out and stand up for conservation. Jenny Mulholland Bearhs is leading a Coalition that is making that happen. Jenny is the Director University of California Berkely’s Outdoor Engagement Coalition. The coalition is a membership-based group that works to give all […]

After retiring as the Director of the National Park Service, Jon Jarvis took on a new role. Director Jarvis is a Director again. This time, he is the first executive director of the newly formed Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity at the University of California Berkeley. Jarvis joins the Park Leaders Show again to […]

Cem Basman has interpretive roots that go deep. From his time with Illinois State Parks, to his role with the National Association for Interpretation (NAI). Cem is a former President of the NAI and retired professor with Indiana University. On this episode of the Park Leaders Show, we discuss interpretation in parks and conservation.

Building friends groups and partnerships is essential for a modern park. Krista Muddle from the National Park Service joins the Park Leaders Show to discuss partnerships. Krista Muddle is a Regional Partnership Coordinator at Intermountain Region Office with the National Park Service. Krista divides her time between a program working in partnership with Mexico on border-related issues […]

Audrey Peterman helps parks people discover parks. Many people who have taken park tours with Audrey are visiting parks for the first time. Audrey is a consistent voice to help get people of all backgrounds into parks. When asked what conversation we should be having people in parks, she said we need to change the perception […]

Christen Miller’s path towards becoming an interpreter began with a terrified toad. Seeing an interpretive program in a State Park, which included the toad, pushed Christen towards a life in parks. Now, Christen is the Visitor Experience Director for Virginia State Parks. In this episode of the Park Leaders Show, Christen talks about interpretation, living […]