2015 Director's Partnership Award Winners

The Director's Partnership Award recognizes the outstanding achievements carried out by national park partners nationwide, everyday. Discover how the 2015 recipients of the Director's Partnership Award are transforming the world; one trail, site, community, and person at a time.

Congratulations to the 2015 winners of the Director's Partnership Awards!

Stephen R. Shelley, Vice Mayor; Ana Alvarez, Ana Azicri, Julio Brea, Rick Ammirato, Alejandro Carrandi, Begoñe Cazalis, Zackery Good, Jeremy Mason, Heather Palmateer, Dennis Maytan, Pedro Reynaldos, City of Homestead, FL; Yvonne Knowles, Homestead Main Street, Inc.; Jacqueline Crucet, National Parks Conservation Association

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Passengers travel from Homestead to Biscayne and Everglades National Parks.

In 2014, the City of Homestead collaborated with Biscayne National Park and Everglades National Park to launch the Homestead Trolley, a free, winter-season, weekend trolley service to Biscayne and Everglades National Parks. Together they planned routes to best showcase the parks and city, scheduled presentations on-route, and coordinated trolley schedules with park programs and activities. Their award winning bilingual marketing campaign introduced the community to each park through signage, print media, pavers, banners, internet, television, and social media; a fantastic promotion that will introduce visitors and local residents to South Florida's national parks for years to come.

Dennis Smith, U.S. Department of Energy, Andrew Hudgins, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Victor Knox, Shawn Norton, Mary Hazell, NPS; 29 participating national park units; 19 Clean Cities coalitions

Department of Energy and Mammoth Cave National Park employees celebrate the addition of an energy efficient bus into the park service fleet.

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In 2010, the Department of Energy Clean Cities program and the NPS partnered to reduce petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions in national parks. Together, parks, park concessioners, neighboring communities, and Clean Cities coalitions completed 30 projects throughout the service, enabling park visitors and employees to use electric cars, shuttles, and buses and propane powered mowers and trucks; charge electric vehicles; and learn about sustainability through education programs, outreach, and online resources. Watch the Green Our Rides Video and learn how you can get involved!

Ernestine White, Janine Da Silva, Katherine Faz, Jill Hamilton-Anderson, Craig Hansen, Katherine Cushinberry, Martin Christiansen, Gloria Lee, Generating Organizational Advancement and Leadership Academy (GOAL) team members, Raquel Romero, GOAL Program Coordinator, George McDonald, Julia Washburn, Marta Kelly, NPS; Jim Clark, Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Director Jon Jarvis and Boys and Girls Clubs of America President and CEO Jim Clark sign a national memorandum of understanding surrounded by members of both organizations.

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Beginning in July 2014, and continuing over the course of a year, NPS Generating Organizational Advancement and Leadership Academy (GOAL) team members worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and park service leadership to develop a formal partnership between the NPS and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. GOAL team members collaborated from nationally dispersed sites to achieve their vision, which has the potential to engage up to 4 million youth in recreational, educational, and developmental programs while introducing future generations of stewards to national parks nation-wide.

Fred Ryan, Stewart McLaurin, Neil Horstman, John Riley, White House Historical Association

The White House Visitor Center, elegantly renovated to include a wide variety of interactive displays, artifacts, and a film, brings the history of the White House to life for all.

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On September 10, 2014, First Lady Michelle Obama, standing alongside the Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and the Chairman of the White House Historical AssociationFred Ryan, cut the ribbon announcing the opening of the newly renovated White House Visitor Center. Due to the White House Historical Association's $12.5 million donation and their project management and planning expertise, visitors can now discover White House history through state of the art, interactive exhibits, over 100 artifacts, a large scale model of the White House, and a film featuring personal stories from Presidents and First Ladies.

Leona Agouridis, Golden Triangle Business Improvement District

Farragut Square draws in people who now use the park daily to relax, exercise, work, or watch a movie with family and friends.

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The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District makes it easy for the residents, employees, and visitors living, working and playing in the Golden Triangle, located in the D.C. business district and encompassing six national parks, to "Escape the Indoors." Through their partnership with the National Mall and Memorial Parks, the Golden Triangle BID has invested over $216,000 in park maintenance, beautification, and landscaping projects, engaged community artists in the design and installation of public art and lighting projects, and initiated programs, including Pilates, "Farragut Fridays" (employee picnic/work days) and movie nights, all working to create gathering places where people can connect, as a community, to the outdoors and to their national parks.

Mr. R. Brooks Jeffery, University of Arizona

Through his innovative leadership, Mr. Jeffery has built an international community of practice in historic preservation.

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Through his innovative leadership of historic preservation programs, including the Missions Initiative, the International Workshop on the Conservation and Restoration of Earthen Architecture program, and the University of Arizona Graduate Certificate in Heritage Conservation Program, Mr. Jeffery has provided students with valuable professional training and experience in historic preservation and restoration, brought together (on a biennial bases) international, multi-disciplinary preservationists who complete, document and disseminate traditional building techniques and research, and carried out historic preservation initiatives in 25 national parks including completing historic structures reports and strategic plans, historic research and documentation, and adobe preservation and structural stabilization.

Ice Age Trail Alliance, Employees and Volunteers

The Ice Age Trail Alliance brings people together to steward, enjoy, and learn about the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.

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The Ice Age Trail Alliance has a long track record of impressive achievements. Since 1958, the Ice Age Trail Alliance has been uniting generations of volunteers, businesses, educational institutions, youth groups, organizations, and government agencies in all aspects of Ice Age National Scenic Trail management, including trail and sign construction and maintenance; fundraising; and land acquisition and preservation. The programs they have developed engage youth and volunteers in outdoor activities and service learning opportunities, foster leadership skills, and provide training on trail building techniques. Through their work, they have shared with so many, the importance of preserving our natural and historic legacy.

Old Spanish Missions, Inc.

The Mission Concepción church interior after restoration retains it's beauty, historical and cultural legacy, and importance to community members and visitors.

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In 2007, Old Spanish Missions, Inc., established by the Archdiocese of San Antonio to provide for the enduring care of the four mission churches within San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, began a $15.5 million capital campaign to restore San Juan Capistrano, Mission San José, Mission Concepción, and Mission Espada. By 2015, the funds were raised and the stabilization and the restoration, using nationally and internationally known conservators, completed on all four churches. On July 5, 2015, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; a testament to the incredible work accomplished by Old Spanish Missions, Inc.