Voices of Our Youth at 250 Virtual Event

NPS Photo

Event Details

On Thursday, August 27 at 1:00 pm ET during National Park Week, join the National Park Service Youth and Young Adult Programs in partnership with The Corps Network and the National Park Foundation for the virtual event, “Voices of Our Youth at 250: Journeys & Park Connections for Future Generations.” Hear panelists share their experience working on service corps, interning, or volunteering, and their reflections on how they personally connect to national parks, as we celebrate the National Park Service’s 110th birthday and commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States Of America. The event is open to the public and will be recorded. The program will include opening remarks, followed by a panel discussion with Q&A, and closing remarks. Live captioning and ASL interpretation will be provided as well. View the official news release.

Register Here

Program

Introduction and Moderator

• Lucy Hurlbut, Youth and Young Adult Programs Outreach Specialist, National Park Service

Remarks

• Tracey Ritchie, Vice President for Programs & Partnerships - Education and Engagement, National Park Foundation
• Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President & CEO, The Corps Network
• Frank Barrows, Deputy Associate Director for Volunteers, Community Engagement, and Commemorations, National Park Service

Panel Discussion

• Logan Reabuck, Traditional Trades Advancement Program Intern at Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, American Conservation Experience
• Conner Dube, Crew Leader at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
• Sash Newton, Structural Fire Protection Intern at Mesa Verde National Park, Student Conservation Association
• Sarah Treska, Fish and Feathers Intern at Cape Cod National Seashore, Environment for the Americas

Q&A Session

Closing Remarks

Learn More About Our Participating Partners

National Park Service Youth and Young Adult Programs: nps.gov/subjects/youthprograms

The Corps Network: corpsnetwork.org

National Park Foundation: nationalparks.org

American Conservation Experience: https://www.usaconservation.org/

Environment for the Americas: https://environmentamericas.org/

Student Conservation Association: https://thesca.org/

Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park: https://www.fhvnp.org/

Additional Resources

• https://www.nps.gov/subjects/youthprograms/ycc.htm
• https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1098/traditional-trades-apprenticeship-program.htm
• https://environmentamericas.org/efta-internships-landing-page/fish-and-feathers-internship-landing-page/
• https://www.nps.gov/articles/structural-fire-protection-internships.htm
• https://www.fhvnp.org/guardians

Meet the Speakers and Panelists

Tracy smiling

Photo Courtesy of Tracey Ritchie

Tracey Ritchie (Speaker) joined the National Park Foundation (NPF) team as the Vice President of Education and Engagement in August of 2021 and oversees all aspects of program management and grantmaking for the Connecting Audiences team. She works closely with National Park Service staff, park partners, and NPF colleagues to raise funds from institutional funders, individual donors, and corporate partners to support the programmatic needs and growth of the ever-expanding Connecting Audiences’ program portfolio.

Frank smiling

Photo courtesy of Frank Barrows

Frank Barrows (Speaker) is the Deputy Associate Director for Volunteers, Commemorations and Community Engagement for the National Park Service. He started his career with the National Park Service (NPS) after the exploration of his cultural identity as a Cape Verdean American led to an internship at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. His experience in the NPS allowed him to deepen his understanding of the role of Cape Verdeans in the whaling industry and the role of African Americans in the New Bedford community. Sharing those stories with others, especially youth, led to a permanent position at the park and sparked the beginning of his 25-plus year career with the agency.

Prior to his current position, he served in roles as the Northeast Region Program Manager for Visitor Experience and Community Engagement, Superintendent of Fort Stanwix National Monument, and Project Lead for Harriet Tubman National Historical Park.

Mary Ellen smiling

Photo courtesy of Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen Sprenkel (Speaker) has been a long-time champion for youth. She came to The Corps Network in March of 2008 as Director of Government Relations and was promoted to Vice President of External Affairs in 2011 and was then appointed Interim CEO in May of 2012, prior to being selected as the CEO in October of 2012.

During her tenure, Service and Conservation Corps have become better known programs. More recently, Mary Ellen has served as a member of the Federal Advisory Committee tasked with providing recommendations to federal land management agencies on how to implement a 21st Century Conservation Service Corps.

Lucy smiling in front of the Washington Monument

Photo courtesy of Lucy

Lucy Hurlbut (Moderator) is the Outreach Specialist for the Youth and Young Adult Programs Office of the National Park Service. She communicates with partners and the public about the various ways youth and young adults are engaging in national parks related to outdoor recreation, education, youth volunteer service, and conservation. These include highlighting the great work interns, fellows, service corps members, and youth volunteers accomplish during their time with the National Park Service and celebrating their growth throughout their journey. She also manages the Youth Conservation Corps Program, as well as the Girl Scout Ranger Program and the Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger Program. Recently, she represented the NPS at Scouting America's National Jamboree, right across from New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

The National Park Service has many partnerships with youth-serving organizations, which include the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps, Youth Conservation Corps, as well as the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, and Scouting America. Learn more about different youth and young adult program opportunities to get involved on the "Work With Us" page.

Logan holding up a non-venomous snake

NPS

Logan Reabuck (Panelist) is currently pursuing a degree in history at Carson Newman University. As a child, his passion for history came from visiting national and state parks close to Morristown Tennessee, where his home was. He would wander through these mountains and be out for hours just exploring and playing. Instead of watching cartoons, he was often watching the history channel and reading National Geographic magazines. At 18 years old, he joined the Marine Corps Infantry. This is where he found his passion for teaching the younger generation. After he got out of the Marine Corps, he should have listened to his mother to pursue his dream of a career in the history and curation fields.

Now he is an intern as part of the Traditional Trades Advancement Program through American Conservation Experience at Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. It has given him the opportunity to be once again, part of something bigger than himself. It can be as simple as weed eating and mowing around President Andrew Johnson, his family's, and the 1,950 veterans headstones, to working in the attic of his house to prevent water damage to the rest of the house and items in it, or re-laying brick sidewalks to make them level after rain washed them out, and sawing up large tree limbs that have fallen due to large storms. And other days are educational, like learning about native trees, plants, and wildlife. I have done and learned so much about what the National Park Service does to preserve and protect places of historical significance and am thankful to be part of it.

Sash out hiking

Photo courtesy of Sash

Sash Newton (Panelist) was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, and is an anticipated graduate of the IFSAC-accredited Fire Protection Administration program at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). He is an aspiring EMT and Firefighter who recently completed his Student Conservation Association internship at Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado, where he was a structural fire intern concentrating on evaluating fire and life safety in various park facilities.

During his internship, Sash independently developed pre-incident plans for buildings throughout the park, participated in search-and-rescue training, conducted flow tests on over 40 fire hydrants, and inspected, tested, and maintained fire extinguishers across the park. He also completed a comprehensive independent project evaluating the park's historic museum, researching the building's history, identifying fire and life safety hazards, and developing recommendations to improve its overall safety.

Working at Mesa Verde challenged Sash to step outside his comfort zone while strengthening his skills in leadership, teamwork, professional development, conservation, and resilience. The experience reinforced his passion for public service and inspired him to pursue a career dedicated not only to protecting lives but also to preserving the structures which enrich the public.

Sarah Treska (Panelist) is from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and has been coming to Cape Cod National Seashore her entire life to visit family. She has spent summers on bayside beaches observing marine creatures, building sand sculptures, fishing, and exploring. Cape Cod is where her love for the ocean and marine life sparked her interest in the ocean and nature in general. It drove her to pursue an undergraduate degree in biology at Worcester State University.

This summer, she interned at Cape Cod National Seashore through the Environment for the Americas’ Fish and Feathers internship program. During this internship, her role was to provide programs and events primarily focused around fishing and birding. She led weekly surf-fishing clinics and bird walks, served as a canoe and kayak program assistant, aided in various outreach events, created several informal popup tables with craft activities and information related to Cape Cod, fishing and birding, contributed to a revolving seasonal visitor center exhibit and, assisted with a handful of ranger programs including Junior Ranger programs and Sharks and Seals talks. This internship experience has opened my eyes to new career paths I have not previously considered. I’ve found that I really enjoy working with kids of all ages and teaching them about nature. This park has always been very special to me and I am honored to have been able to intern here for the summer, sharing the beauty and magic of Cape Cod with visitors from all over

Conner smiling

Photo courtesy of Conner

Conner Dube (Panelist) is a Program Coordinator with Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, where he helps lead the Guardians of the Trails Youth Intern Program. Originally from Maine, Conner moved to Hawaiʻi with his family and found an opportunity to turn his love of working outdoors into a career in conservation. With a background in sustainable agriculture, he brings hands-on experience and a strong interest in protecting Hawaiʻi’s native ecosystems. Since joining the organization, Conner has grown from working directly in the field to helping guide the next generation of conservation while continuing to learn from the landscapes, wildlife, and people that make Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park so unique.