Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters

Interpretive Trainers are our guests this week on Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters. Karin Hostetter, Robert Smith, Jamie Hubert, Clark Hancock, Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman discuss the economic changes affecting training, the challenges of training large numbers of docents, seasonal workers and frontline staff and the impact of Artificial Intelligence on...

With nearly four decades of experience with the National Park Service (NPS), Robert G. Stanton has an unmatched depth of experience about the Agency from top to bottom. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Robert Stanton’s experience growing up in an African American community and the need to deal with Race and Racism brought a special focus to his life and career. His career with the NPS began in 1962 when...

Born during a snowstorm in Ft. Riley, Kansas, Connie's adventurous spirit was kindled from the start. This early connection to winter led to a passion for sled dog racing with her purebred Samoyed team, a venture she pursued for 20 years across the United States. Raised in Athens, Ohio, Connie developed a love for reading that sparked her imagination, inspired by stories like “Sergeant Preston of...

John Steinle, originally from Hamilton, Ohio, earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Dayton. After several years as a commercial artist, he switched careers to history. He obtained a master’s degree in Museum and Archival Management from Wright State University and worked as a Curator and Archivist at the Cincinnati Art Museum and Cincinnati Historical Society. In 1992, he moved t...

Michael Watson began his career as a High School Intern at a Minute Man Missile Plant, a Mister Softee Ice Cream Truck Driver, 4-H Camp Naturalist, and Naturalist at Burr Oak State Park (OH). After graduating from The Ohio State University (1967), he became a Science Teacher in the Marion (OH) Public School System (1967-1971).   His National Park Service career began as a Seasonal Interpreter at M...

Rob Pacheco's journey began in California, where he spent his formative years assisting a local beekeeper and fostering a deep curiosity for the nature around him. At the University of Colorado, Rob enrolled in a multi-disciplinary environmental program while beekeeping for researchers studying honey bee genetics. He moved to the Big Island of Hawaii, eager to immerse himself in the world of bees....

Join Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney on Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story for an engaging conversation with author, photographer, mule packer, storyteller, and cowboy poet E.T. Collinsworth. Together, they will explore E.T.'s remarkable life, adventures, and experiences on both sides of the border. E.T. Collinsworth hails from Tennessee but has deep ties to Chicago and the Czech Republic...

Immerse yourself in an enlightening conversation with Walt Dabney, a distinguished former National Park Service Superintendent, NPS Chief Ranger, and ex-Director of Texas State Parks. Walt's illustrious career spans decades, marked by his significant contributions to both our cherished National Parks and the Texas State Parks system.   Early in his tenure with the NPS, Walt was entrusted with the...

This week on Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters our guest is Susan Marie Frontczak. Storysmith® Susan Marie Frontczak's deeply researched Living History programs are the center of her repertoire. In her programs as Marie Curie, Mary Shelley, Eleanor Roosevelt, Irene Castle, Erma Bombeck and Clara Barton, Susan Marie melts, stretches, and reforms the boundarie...

Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Interpreters and Guides was honored to recently interview Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution—and its first African American and first historian to hold the position. Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1952 to educators Lonnie II and Montrose Bunch, Dr. Bunch earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph. D. in American and Afric...

Juan Castaing, a Chilean Interpretive Guide and Trainer, specializes in heritage interpretation, media and hospitality services. He has been combining ecotourism and communication for more than 20 years. His expertise lies in effectively communicating and managing cultural experiences, particularly those blending nature and culture. Castaing offers consulting services and workshops to help other g...

Kathe Hambrick is Executive Director of the Amistad Research Center in Louisiana. In this role, Hambrick sees an opportunity to mentor and shape a new generation of curators, archivists, and digitization specialists. The mission of the Amistad Research Center is to "collect, preserve, and provide access to original documents that highlight the social and cultural significance of America's ethnic a...

While teaching as a Geography Professor at University of Puerto Rico for twenty-two years, Eliezer Nieves-Rodriguez has trained Certified Interpretive Guides, served as an interpretive planner and consultant to local communities as well as international interpretive trainer for the RESERVA Program. .He grew up in Puerto Rico and has spent his long career devoted to protection of the island’s uniqu...

Tom Medema, the Associate Director of Interpretation, Education, and Volunteers for the National Park Service (NPS), has had an inspiring career journey that began in Muskegon, Michigan. After earning both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees, Tom embarked on a 35-year adventure with the NPS, taking on increasingly impactful roles—from interpreter to superintendent, ultimately becoming Associate Di...

Today is a special edition of Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters podcast featuring more than one hour of conversation among five very experienced interpretive trainers. Clark Hancock from Austin, Texas, Donna Horton from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Gabriela Plumasseau from Paris, France, Heidi McFarland from Boulder Creek, California, and Lisa Brochu, my wife and traini...

Today Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman talk story with Omar Eaton-Martinez, who began his career as a teacher in eastern cities and later worked with the National Park Service on youth programs, serving as staff to the National Latino American Museum Commission. Born to Puerto Rican parents, Omar bridges gaps between White Americans, Americans of Color, African Americans, and Latinos. Holding degree...

Edward W. Gantt, a retired Navy Captain with a unique background, talks story with Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney for "Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters." Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Gantt graduated from Howard University and the National Defense University. He served 30 years in the military, first as a door gunner on a Huey helicopter in Vietnam w...

A Native of Eatonville, Florida, Christy Coleman grew up in the shadow of African American anthropologist and writer Zora Neale Hurston. As a teenager in 1982, wanting to become an actor, she accepted a summer position as a character actor for an enslaved woman named Rebecca at Colonial Williamsburg. Her growing enthusiasm for History led her to a Bachelor of Arts degree as well as a master’s degr...

A Co-Founder of “The Camp Moreno Project” along with her late Husband, Roberto Moreno and former National Park Ranger Bill Gwaltney, Louise Moreno has been a long-term activist promoting sharing the out of doors with Latino communities and families across the United States. Louise fell in love with the dashing Roberto Moreno and the pair were married after a courtship of only four days. Married fo...

Lorraine Johnson Coleman was born in the deep south, but also has roots in urban New York City. The proud daughter of a WWII African American U.S. Marine, she appreciates both the bitterness, and the sweetness that is part of growing up Black in America. Her interest in family history, shared stories and her attention to detail of African American Culture has made it possible for her to have lived...

Lorraine Johnson Coleman was born in the deep south, but also has roots in urban New York City. The proud daughter of a WWII African American U.S. Marine, she appreciates both the bitterness, and the sweetness that is part of growing up Black in America. Her interest in family history, shared stories and her attention to detail of African American Culture has made it possible for her to have lived...

Ten years into his 24-year US Army career, First Sergeant Lee N. Coffee Jr. assumed a carefully researched living history interpretive role as a 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldier, Sgt. Emanuel Stance, a Medal of Honor recipient during the Indian Wars campaign in the 1870s.  As a historian and professional speaker, Lee has won awards for over thirteen years, leading week-long Heritage Intervention Progra...

John Miller had a long career as manager and interpreter at a fish hatchery in Branson, Missouri, a very popular tourism destination. He has also served in a variety of leadership roles with National Association for Interpretation, including Region 6 Director and more recently Chair of the Nominations Committee. He shares a unique story of a photo of a peanut turtle going viral long before the Int...

Dr. Rex Ellis created the engaging African-American living history interpretive program at Colonial Williamsburg and went on to become the Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum African-American Museum History and Culture at Smithsonian Institute. Join us at Reflections on Interpretation to learn of his journey from interpreter to curator. https://timfmerriman.podbean.com/...

Kim Sikoryak has had a three decade career working for National Park Service as a Ranger, Planner and Trainer. Today on Reflections on Interpretation:Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters, co-hosts Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman chat with Kim about his long and varied career and the importance of excellent interpretation in national parks.   https://lnkd.in/gWapDsx3   #timmerriman #interpreta...