SCA and NPS Celebrate 65 Years of Partnership Virtual Event
A collage of photos celebrating the NPS/SCA 65-year partnership
Courtesy of the Student Conservation Association
The graphic is an announcement for a virtual event. Text on the graphic reads "Virtual Event - Cheers to 65 Years: Celebrating the NPS Partnership With SCA. Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 4:00 PM ET" and includes logos for the National Park Service and the Student Conservation Association. A link to register is listed as thesca.org/SCA-NPS-Event. The image is from the Student Conservation Association.
Additional information about this event is available throughout this webpage.
Event Details
On Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 4:00pm ET, join the National Park Service Youth Programs Division and the Student Conservation Association (SCA)for our virtual event, "Cheers to 65 Years: Celebrating the NPS Partnership with SCA." In 2022, SCA also reached the milestone of placing more than 100,000 members into the field since 1957. SCA members have left their footprint at many local, state, and national parks, wildlife refuges, forests, and coastal areas in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and American Samoa. SCA’s network of 100,000 alumni has global reach with folks living and working throughout the USA and as far away as New Zealand. From Olympic National Park and Grand Teton National Park, where it all began, to state parks and urban green spaces in so many city centers, SCA was the first organization to establish a youth corps of its caliber and has become a model for the current Corps movement. The event is open to the public and will be recorded. We will have live captioning and an ASL interpreter. Please note, speakers are subject to change.
Missed the event? Watch it on our NPS YouTube channel, or follow the NPS Youth Programs Facebook page to watch it on our Facebook page. Scroll down to see a screenshot of the speakers and panelists from the event.
Program
Introduction
Patricia Malizia, Senior Director of Alumni Engagement and Direct Response, Student Conservation Association
Floyd V. Myers, Acting Chief of the Youth Programs and the Experienced Services Program Division, National Park Service
Panel Discussion (all SCA alumni)
Amie Schiller, Stewardship Coordinator, Minnesota Land Trust
Angie Quezada, Former Student Conservation Association Member
Chris Setley, F-35 International Logistics Lead, Department of Defense
Donna Shaver, Chief of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery, National Park Service
Jay Fennell, Hydrogeologist, Water Quality Program Specialist, Washington Department of Ecology
Q&A Session
Closing Remarks
Moderator
Kyle Yarusso, Volunteer and Youth Programs Coordinator, National Park Service
Watch the Event Recording
Screenshot from left to right: ASL Interpreter; Floyd V. Myers (NPS); Amie Schiller (Minnesota Land Trust); Chris Setley (U.S. Department of Defense); Angie Quezada (SCA Alum); Jay Fennell (Washington Department of Ecology); Donna Shaver (NPS); Kyle Yarusso (NPS); Patricia Malizia (SCA)
Kyle Yarusso (moderator) is the Volunteer and Youth Programs Coordinator at Rock Creek Park. In his role, he oversees a volunteer program that engages many partner organizations and over 5,000 volunteers annually. Additionally, he works with youth organizations to provide internships and trail crew opportunities within the park. He has also worked at Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and at President’s Park (White House). Kyle began his tenure with the National Park Service serving as a Student Conservation AssociationAmericorps member, planning and putting on events to celebrate the National Park Service Centennial in 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Environmental Science and is a certified Wilderness First Responder. In his free time, Kyle likes to run, hike, camp, and explore new places.
Patricia smiling outdoors in front of a falls
Photo Courtesy of Patricia Malizia
Patricia Malizia is the Senior Director of Alumni Engagement and Direct Response for the Student Conservation Association. She has been with the organization since 2017 and is also a proud alumni. She served in Yosemite National Park on a revegetation crew and in the Helena National Forest on the Continental Divide Trail leading an alumni crew. She is passionate about developing programs that make a difference in peoples' lives by supporting, engaging, and involving all. She wants to create positive and meaningful experiences for people and help them make connections.
Donna Shaver is the Chief of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery for the National Park Service. Dr. Shaver began her career at Padre Island National Seashore as a Student Conservation Association intern in 1980 and eventually joined the staff full-time, helping to guide an innovative program that reintroduced Kemp's ridley sea turtles to Padre Island’s beaches through experimental imprinting and head-starting. Recognized today as one of the world’s foremost authorities on sea turtle conservation, Dr. Shaver has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sea Turtle Society, among many other honors.
Amie smiling outdoors
Photo Courtesy of Amie Schiller
Amie Schiller currently serves as the Stewardship Coordinator at the Minnesota Land Trust. Prior to her work at the Land Trust, she served in several positions with the Student Conservation Association and the National Park Service in beautiful landscapes across the United States, including Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, and at the Washington D.C Office. When she is not working, Amie can be found adventuring with her partner and pup, or out looking for birds in the woods. She has a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont with a minor in GIS and was just recognized as a 2022 MN GIS/LIS Emerging Professional Award Winner.
Jay posing outdoors while on a hike
Photo Courtesy of Jay Fennell
Jay Fennell is a hydrogeologist within the Water Quality Program at the Washington State Department of Ecology. In this role, he administers permits and inspects mining operations and industrial facilities to ensure that their activities do not impair surface water or groundwater resources. Originally from Southeast Washington, D.C., Jay began his professional pursuits as a member of the Student Conservation Association's Historic Preservation Corps at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in 2014, helping to restore lodge buildings at Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec and at the historic Millbrook Village. After completing this program, he joined the backcountry trail crew at Rocky Mountain National Park for the 2015 season, primarily to repair trails damaged during the 2013 Colorado Floods. Jay's pursuit of a career in the environmental field would transport him across the country and from the southwest to the Arctic Circle, all the while fostering an appreciation for the complexities of natural resource management. Jay holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Geology with a minor in mining engineering,. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Applied Geosciences at the University of Washington. Choice pastimes include reading, snowboarding, indoor rock climbing, and rollerblading.
Angela smiling while holding tree branches in her SCA uniform
Photo Courtesy of Angela Quezada
Angie Quezada is a recent Student Conservation Association (SCA) alum. She began her SCA experience in high school as a crew member in 2013. She graduated from Augustana College with a B. A. in Environmental Studies with a double minor in Latin American Studies and Geography. While in college, she kick-started and coordinated an after-school Environmental club for children between kindergarten to 5th grade in 2019. Later, she interned with the TEENS Program at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum as an Education intern for Highschoolers. She continued her SCA experience after TEENS and served with the SCA's Chicago Women's Crew in 2020. She returned as Youth Crew Lead in the summer of 2021 and was formerly the Alumni Engagement fellow with the SCA earlier this year. She recently completed her fifth SCA season with the SCA Idaho Corps, which was her first SCA experience outside her hometown of Little Village, in Chicago, IL, for work. Some of her projects were done at City of Rocks National Reserve, She plans to continue to work with SCA's partners, including the National Park Service or the U.S. Forest Service, to educate the community on the importance of our surrounding environment and how to protect it for future generations.
Chris holding up a block of ice
Photo Courtesy of Chris Setley
Chris Setley is the International Logistics Lead at the F-35 Joint Program Office in Arlington, VA. He served with the Student Conservation Association at Cedar Breaks National Monument as an Interpretive Park Ranger. Chris also served a tour in the U.S. Marine Corps.These early-career experiences provided solid ethical and professional foundations that he has continued to build on. With a specialty in sustainable technology systems, Chris appreciates the need for conservation in many aspects of life. He is an active advocate of diversity in the workplace. Outside of work, Chris enjoys enhancing his fishing and cooking skills.
