Denver Service Center (DSC) Celebrates National Hispanic Month

We're proud to help celebrate and recognize National Hispanic Month from September 15 to October 15. It's a time of celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. We invite you to meet a couple of our employees that help shape our office and culture.

Cynthia Nelson, Branch Chief for the National Park Service, Denver Service Center Planning.

Cynthia Nelson, Branch Chief for the National Park Service, Denver Service Center Planning

What was the path that led you to the National Park Service Denver Service Center? In college, I did a short summer volunteer internship with a local government office in my hometown of Colorado Springs, CO. This spurred my intrigue with public service at the local, state and federal government levels. I pursued a Masters of Public Administration degree and just out of graduate school started my federal career with the Federal Aviation Administration. I came to the National Park Service (NPS) as a community planner to work on challenging planning projects nearly 12 years ago. I am incredibly fortunate to work at DSC - Planning (DSC-P) — an organization that is all about service.

What do you love about your job? I work with dedicated, passionate and thoughtful people who have incredible technical skills that they use to make a difference for parks and programs.

What's your favorite project you have worked on and why? I really love the diversity of planning projects and services that we work on in our division. I cant' pick just one! The different type of parks and the variety of programs we serve make my job challenging and exciting.

What about your heritage would you like to share with others? My family is from southern Colorado, a location which is home to some of the the oldest Latino communities in the United States.

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Abel and his family at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.

Abel Ramon, Branch Chief for the National Park Service, Denver Service Center Information Management

What was the path that led you to the National Park Service Denver Service Center? During my time as a college student, I worked part time in a records management consulting firm, which is where I learned to be a system administrator for records management databases. After graduation, I was offered a full-time job with the same firm and began implementing records management software for oil and gas industries. After about three years of doing that, my family and I decided to move to Colorado and I took a job as a records manager with the Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration for almost four years before moving to the Denver Service Center (Technical Information Center (TIC)).

What do you love about your job? I really enjoy the wide variety of work that my role provides. It’s equally great to work in an office full of professionals who are as passionate about the National Park Mission as I am. It’s meaningful that I can actually see how my work impacts that mission.

What's your favorite project you have worked on and why? National Museum of the American Latino Commission Report to the President and Congress. It allowed me to showcase my skills and dedication during a high profile project. How appropriate.

What about your heritage would you like to share with others? We don't all speak Spanish. English was first in my household.