National Parks and Regional Parks: Telling History in Parks | Kelli English and Brian Holt (Fall Colloquium)

Presentation Description:
Thurgood Marshall Regional Park – Home of the Port Chicago 50: Converting a Former Military Base into Public Parkland and Celebrating African-American History

Brian W. Holt Biography:
Brian W. Holt serves as the Chief of Planning, Trails, and GIS at the East Bay Regional Park District, the largest urban regional park district in the nation. Brian works at the intersection of parks, environmental protection, and urban development and has been part of a team that has protected nearly 30,000 acres. He has worked to expand park access for all users in Alameda and Contra Costa County, including leading the efforts to established the newly named “Thurgood Marshall Regional Park – Home of the Port Chicago 50” on the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. Brian has a degree in natural resource planning and management from Humboldt State University and a Master of Environmental Management from the Department of Environmental Leadership at Duke University.

Kelli English Biography:
Kelli English is the Chief of Interpretation for John Muir National Historic Site, Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, and Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front National Historical Park. In this capacity she oversees all visitor services, including visitor center operations, education programs, outreach efforts, and interpretive media for all four NPS sites in the East Bay.

Originally from the South Side of Chicago, Kelli grew up as a city kid who loved zoos as well as natural & cultural history museums, and dreamed of becoming a scientist. She began her interpretive career fifteen years ago at Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center, a residential environmental education facility where she implemented an urban youth stewardship program in heavily industrialized northwest Indiana. Kelli has served as a frontline interpretive ranger at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a supervisory park ranger at Yellowstone National Park, and the community outreach specialist for Golden Gate National Recreation Area. She has delivered a wide variety of interpretive and place-based education programs, managed visitor center operations, trained new rangers in interpretive skills, and worked with community organizations and park partners to engage urban youth with national parklands and the outdoors.

Kelli holds a B.A. in Biological Anthropology from Harvard University and a M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Her master’s thesis research involved identifying barriers to participation in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore’s interpretive public programs by residents of Gary, IN. She is the 2003 recipient of the College of Natural Resources’ Outstanding Graduate Student award at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and the 2005 Outstanding New Interpreter national award winner for the National Association of Interpretation.

Learn more about other speakers here.

Future Histories Lab offers community-engaged, project-based courses. Dig into hidden local histories and envision better futures in our exciting courses focused on social justice, race, place, and the arts. Take just three courses (in summer or other times) and earn a Certificate in Urban Humanities.