When I was a park ranger, the former director of our agency used to preach the concept of the well-rounded ranger. I believe his message was that our agency needed to train rangers for more than law enforcement. He wanted us to think in terms of service, and not enforcement. If focusing on service […]
Connecting Parks to Communities
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most popular National Park in the United States. People come from all over the eastern half of the country to visit the Smoky Mountains and drive visitation higher than park service icons such as Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. The key to operating Great Smoky Mountains is […]
Podcast Your Park with Jeff Brown
I am on a mission to get parks to start podcasting. Podcasting is a way parks can serve visitors in a new and unique way. To explore the idea of podcasting in parks, I went straight to one of the best podcasters around. Jeff Brown is the host of the Read to Lead podcast. Read […]
Being a Seasonal Law Enforcement Ranger with Amanda Llanes
Amanda Llanes returns to the Park Leaders Show to talk about her first season as a seasonal law enforcement ranger with the National Park Service. At the time of her first interview, Amanda was a cadet in the law enforcement academy. Now, she has been a seasonal ranger for one year. Amanda talks about her experience, […]
Life as a Seasonal Park Ranger with Kaitlyn Kunce
On the Park Leaders Show, I often talk to leaders in the National Park Service. Chief Interpreters, Chief Rangers and Park Superintendents have all been guests on the show. The one thing they all have in common is they all started as seasonal park rangers. That means the future leaders of the National Park Service […]
Developing an Entrepreneurial Spirit in Parks
If you have listened to the Park Leaders Show for awhile, you know Jack Hartt was a mentor of mine while I was a park ranger. It was my conversations with Jack early in my career which led me to believe that you would enjoy hearing similar conversations with leaders from all over the country. […]
One Year of Park Leaders
After publishing an episode of the Park Leaders Show every week for 52 weeks, the microphone gets turned around. Jared Easley, host of Starve the Doubts, interviews Jody Maberry, the host of the Park Leaders Show. The usual host of the show answers questions about his career and what Park Leaders is all about. Jared […]
Hosting Concerts in Parks
For several summers, with the help of a group of tremendous volunteers, I ran a summer concert series at a park I worked at. We delighted park visitors with between six and nine concerts each summer. Concerts are a great way to bring new visitors to the park, provide more to regular visitors, and bridge […]
How to Make a Park “Park-Like”
Jack Hartt is deliberate about the experience people have at Deception Pass State Park. He feels a park experience should feel “Park-Like”. Most parks have trees and trails, but it is the experience of the park that brings people back year after year. In this episode of the Park Leaders Show, Jack Hartt verbally walks […]
The Art of Work with Jeff Goins
Jeff Goins returns to the Park Leaders Show to discuss his new book, The Art of Work. The Art of Work is a proven path to discovering what you were meant to do. It is about finding your calling and being who you were meant to be. The book is wonderful. In my opinion, […]