Last updated: February 14, 2017
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This Career Path Leads to Opportunity
What experience and education do you have? As a licensed landscape architect, I have worked as a park landscape architect at Redwood National Park, a planner/legislative specialist within the former North Atlantic Regional Office in Boston, and multiple positions within the Denver Service Center. I have a BS in Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Colorado-Denver.
What is typical day like? Dynamic, never boring! I have cross country opportunities to guide transportation planning and implementation projects with park staff, interested publics and multiple partners that use transportation outcomes to improve visitor experiences, resource conditions and partnering potentials. Whether facilitating workshops, developing alternative planning scenarios, rehabilitating historic structures, constructing sustainable facilities, or developing alternative transportation modes- trains, ferries, buses, or bikes with NPS and partner staff, each day is a remarkable venue.
What career advice would you give to someone who wants to follow a similar path?
Say yes to the unexpected, look at diverse task or project offers, temporary assignments and various organizational or geographic positions as portals to rewarding experience and career opportunities. Collaborate for best efforts, be positive, and strive for exceeding expectations.
What is one of the bigger projects you are working on and what about that project might surprise people? I am working with a talented NPS project team, partnering agencies and consultants to initiate a new ferry service in Florida at the Gulf Islands National Seashore which provides water and landside facilities, historic structure rehabilitations, and fabrication of two 150 passenger catamaran ferries. With a 2018 startup, the project partners are combining individual capabilities to collaboratively implement an alternate access project for visitor and gateway community benefits. This transportation project is able to promote NPS values beyond park boundaries and enhance visitor experience and resource protection opportunities.