Park Leaders Show

Wild Jobs are all around us, but often go unnoticed. John Griffith returns to the Park Leaders Show to tell us about his new show, Wild Jobs, on Animal Planet. Griffith uses the show to highlight conservation and the hard work done at wildlife sanctuaries and animal hospitals. Getting a show with Animal Plant started years ago when John uploaded his first video to YouTube. The video went viral and...

Dylan Mroszczyk-McDonald returns to the Park Leaders Show to continue the discussion about leadership and culture in parks.  Dylan is a park ranger at Acadia National Park. In this episode, we discuss innovative leadership and the impact it can have on the culture of parks.  To some degree, we are doing the same job park rangers were doing 60 years ago. We are trying to protect and preserve parks....

Being a park ranger is an admirable job. Many people grow up dreaming of becoming a park ranger.  Yet, too many people leave parks, and walk away from their dream, because of poor leadership or an unhealthy culture.  Dylan Mroszczyk-McDonald, a park ranger at Acadia National Park , joins host Jody Maberry on the Park Leaders Show to examine some of the challenges parks face with leadership and cul...

Brennan McCauley returns to the Park Leaders Show to give an update on where he is in his park ranger career.  Over the past two years, Brennan has been a guest on the show several times as he has moved through stages of his early park ranger career.  Beginning when he was a student at Temple University and a member of the Pro Ranger Program, Brennan joined us to talk about the program and his fut...

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 to hear these young rangers talk about why they became a park ranger.  Ask yourself the same quest...

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 most of us in parks, Dan worked time out in the field with guests. He learn...

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 come with it; trash, fire danger, drugs, and safety.  How can rangers serve the public while a...

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 leaders program, Christian is he...

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 Californians an opportunity to get outdoors.  I...

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 .  Jarvis joins the Park Leaders Show again to discuss his time with the National Park Service and his new role. As a 40 year veteran of the park service, Dir...

Do parks have a responsibility to interpret? Cem Basman joins the Park Leaders Show to discuss. 

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 and workin...

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 that non-white people are not interested in parks. Audrey has seen it hap...

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 history, creating a great visitor expe...

Brennan McAuley returns to the Park Leaders Show to share what he learned after another summer with the National Park Service.  Brennan is a student in the Temple Pro Ranger Program. Brennan has been on the Park Leaders Show to tell us about the Pro Ranger Program and again to talk about his first summer with the National Park Service .  This episode, Brennan returns to discuss his second summer w...

After a career in the military, Christina Ryan-Miller joined the National Park Service. In her role as a Zone Safety Manager, she makes sure park employees and visitors are safe.  In this episode of the Park Leaders Show, we talk all about safety. But we also talk about so much more.  Christina talks about her transition from the military, being an introvert in parks, and how to work with introver...

Most parks work with volunteers. Some parks treat volunteers like stars. When this happens, word spreads in the volunteer community.  But not all parks do well working with volunteers.  This episode of The Park Leaders Episode, we have the opportunity to hear words directly from a volunteer. This volunteer offers tips and advice on how to get the most working with volunteers. How often do we take...

Roy Sullivan is a one of a kind park ranger. His story is so unique, we are still talking about him today.  This episode of the Park Leaders Show, we share Roy's story. 

All Park Leaders are servant leaders. We serve guests, employees, and the resources we vow to protect.  Servant leaders recognize leadership is a stewardship responsibility. This style of leadership fits perfectly with people of parks. We serve the public and we serve resources.  Kevin Monroe joins the Park Leaders Show to explain servant leadership and how it applies to parks.  You can find Kevin...

Commander Bill Overby joins the Park Leaders Show to  Commander Overby discusses his new consulting business, and how technology has changed the park experience for visitors and park rangers.  After so many years in parks, first, as a park ranger followed by training over one thousand park rangers at the Parks Law Enforcement Academy, the Commander offers his observation on what Rangers face today...

Domenic Bravo, Director of  Wyoming State Parks joins the Park Leaders Show to share his experience Domenic also discusses the National Association of State Parks Directors and why it is important to connect with our peers, no matter what our job in parks is.  Wyoming State Parks is also contending for the National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal Award. Director Bravo offers insight int...

Tom Heenan, a ranger at BelhusWoods Country Park , joins the Park Leaders Show to talk about the European Ranger Federation.  During our conversation, we talk about the issues Rangers face all over the world. Nature is the same and people are people, no matter if you are in Australia or the United Kingdom.  Tom also discusses the importance of being involved in a Ranger Association, and  European...

Appropriate use of a park ensures sustainability for that park. This is how Jeff Hallo explains they balance between the balance between parks role in serving customers and conserving natural resources.  Jeff is a social scientist and professor at Clemson University. The research Jeff does help parks create remarkable experiences for visitors while still being able to maintain the natural environm...

Have you ever stopped to wonder what kids want when they visit your park? Tigran Nahabedian, known as Junior Ranger Tigran, joins the Park Leaders Show to give you an insight of how kids see your park.  Junior Ranger Tigran is no ordinary kid, though. He tours National Parks collecting Junior Ranger badges. He knows more about parks, wildlife, and plants than most people three times his age. He vo...

We are all interpreters. Whether it is in your title or not, if you work in parks, you are an interpreter. Margot Carlock, Executive Director of  National Association for Interpretation , joins the Park Leaders Show to talk about what makes a great interpreter. The National Association for Interpretation represents individuals from parks, zoos, aquariums, theme parks, museums, and more. What is si...