Meet Evelyn Moreno, a Communications Specialist at the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) in Washington, DC. She started as a fellow in the office before becoming a full-time employee. Learn more about her journey to the National Park Service and her passion for making the outdoors accessible for all.

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Nicole: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Conservation Diaries, a National Park Service podcast. I am your host, Nicole Segnini. In these new episodes we will be highlighting current young National Park Service employees who were once interns, fellows, volunteers, or part of a specialized program.

There are many ways young people can get involved with the National Park Service. And sometimes these youth programs can help you jumpstart your career as a full-time employee of the National Park Service.

We caught up with some employees who have made this jump to hear about their experiences and advice they have for young people.

Today we are hearing from Evelyn Moreno, who was born in Chicago but calls Texas her home. Her parents are both immigrants from Mexico. She went to the University of Texas at Austin where she majored in journalism and minored in geography. Two things she was very passionate about growing up.

Evelyn: I kind of knew that I really wanted to be able to write about the environment, write about environmental issues affecting communities of color, and write about wildlife, all the things that just make me so happy.

Nicole: During college and after graduating, Evelyn did a few internships before landing an opportunity at the National Park Service. She was focusing on writing about things and issues that she is passionate about, such as environmental and social justice and immigration issues.

And then she found an opportunity to do a communications fellowship with the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program, or RTCA. The fellowship was through Hispanic Access Foundation, a partner of the National Park Service that connects people in the Latinx community to opportunities by exposing them to reliable and relevant resources and promoting civic engagement.

Evelyn: So, the fellowship that I did was 11 months. And at the end of it I did get Public Land Corps hiring authority, so I'm really grateful about that. And a few months into my fellowship my boss was like oh, would you want to work here after? And I was like yes, please. Like hello, this is a dream job, honestly. So, I'm grateful that it worked out.

Nicole: During those eleven months, Evelyn wrote articles and produced newsletters highlighting conservation and outdoor recreation projects to help increase the awareness of the RTCA program.

Now, RTCA, the acronym for the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program, provides free assistance and helps local communities to move forward in their conservation and outdoor recreation projects across the United States. The program assists communities and public land managers in developing or restoring parks, conservation areas, rivers... And it also helps them create outdoor recreation opportunities and programs to engage future generations in the outdoors.

It is important to note though that the program does not provide financial assistance or monetary grants. RTCA works as a collaborative partner, offering technical assistance through an annual application process that community groups, nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, national parks, and local, state, and federal agencies can apply for.

Evelyn told me an important aspect of her job, and the program itself, is making sure they are increasing outreach efforts to underrepresented communities and communities of color.

Evelyn: One example was, close to New Orleans, there was this community that had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina way back when. Louisiana and is always being affected by devastating natural disasters like hurricanes. So we were able to work with this community that had lost a lot of their homes and structures, and creating climate resiliency so that future hurricanes wouldn't completely devastate their community. And this was an underrepresented community, a mostly Black community, and it's just so valuable because these communities need support, and they deserve support, and we're here to give it. So for that and more I think it's really important that we do create a bridge to make it for communities, like make it easier for communities to reach out to us and feel safe, and feel heard, and be able to create the same access to outdoor recreation opportunities that a lot of affluent communities have. Because again, it's a human need and it's what's fair.

Nicole:  After she was hired to work full-time at the National Park Service, she simply continued to do the work she had been doing as a fellow: communicating about the important work they do.  

Her current position is as a writer and editor, and she does everything from writing articles and social media highlights... to writing and releasing a publication that highlights their work a little bit more in depth regarding building healthy communities, conserving lands and waters, supporting public land management collaboration, and more.  

She makes sure to highlight what the program is doing to ensure everyone has safe and equitable access to close-to-home outdoor experiences and places. She combines her passion for writing with her enthusiasm for hearing people’s stories and amplifying the voices of the communities they represent.  

One of the things Evelyn finds the most valuable about being part of RTCA, is the people she works with. 

Evelyn: Literally everyone is a gem, everyone cares so much about working with communities that are underrepresented as well and just helping them you know to create access to outdoor recreation opportunities because it's a human need. It's a basic human need that we want to be able to meet. So, the passion that I see, you know, when I talk with staff about projects is unlike anything I've ever seen, they're always so excited to get new projects and see the successes that their partners are having. Because we work on projects for one to two years and then we're like okay, here you go, here's a plan. You know, hopefully you can implement it, what's your timeline? And then partners follow back up after like three to four years and they're like, ‘we finished building this park, and it's so cool, and the community loves it.’ So honestly, just so valuable, the work that we do obviously is so valuable but the people who make it happen are so great and lovely.

Nicole: While Evelyn didn’t know that this program existed, she also never saw herself working for the federal government. As someone who was studying journalism in college, it just never crossed her mind. Like many, she didn’t know that there were so many different careers to explore at the National Park Service.

Evelyn: Aside from being a park ranger I didn't know what opportunities existed. Like of course, people have to do communications, of course, but I didn't consider it. I was going to journalism school, I was thinking like CNN, and Democracy Now, like magazines. So, when I saw this position, I was like, ‘No way, I literally went to school for this. Let me do it, I love it.’

Nicole: But it was possible, thanks to her fellowship, one of several youth programs opportunities that exist for young diverse people to get involved with the National Park Service.

Evelyn says it is vital that the National Park Service continues to outreach to communities of color and to have more people, especially young people, from these communities join the workforce.

Evelyn: I think it's invaluable to have people of color working in these spaces because, you know, we have unique connections to the natural environment, or we have unique ways of recreating, like carne asadas, or having just different ways of being outdoors. So, we also know for the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program, we do a lot of outreach. So having more people of color like me and some colleagues, we were able to recommend to our other colleagues like ‘hey, if you want to work with Latinx communities you have to give them a little bit more time to get comfortable with you, you have to maybe have a little cafecito, talk about the project, make them feel safe, heard.’

So we can offer perspectives that otherwise, who's going to offer them? We offer all these perspectives that can encourage leadership to think about outreach strategies in a new way, to think about conservation efforts in a new way, to think about creating Spanish language materials so that we can get more people coming out and enjoying national parks, local parks, applying for assistance. So yeah, we just provide all these new perspectives that others would probably not think about. And that's because of our background, that's because of our cultura, that's because of us, what makes us.

Nicole: Applying for federal jobs can be tricky, complicated, and tiring. That’s why Evelyn wants young people to know about fellowships like the one she did, because of the help you could get after completing the program.

She has some advice for young people who want to try out a youth program at the National Park Service, or who are already doing one.

The first one, is to look everywhere for opportunities in things you are passionate about, without giving up. And the second one, is to not be afraid to ask for help.

Evelyn: You know, express yourself, and share your passions, and just really be confident in yourself that you can navigate this. It's definitely tricky and scary but again, asking for help is like one of my biggest recommendations because I definitely had to ask, how do I build a federal resume? My resume was one page and then I had to make it be freaking, I had to make it be like 10 pages. I was just like, what the heck, this is insane. So I definitely asked for help there. I asked for help with navigating USA Jobs, everything seems so tricky. But these people definitely are there to help and support you.

Nicole: You can learn more about the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program and how to apply for assistance, at nps.gov/RTCA. You’ll find out more about the incredible work they do with partners across the country. 

And remember, in these new episodes of Conservation Diaries, we are highlighting young National Park Service employees, like Evelyn, whose National Park Service journeys started as volunteers, fellows, interns, or as part of special programs.

To learn more about these jobs, internships, and volunteering opportunities, you can go to www.nps.gov/youthprograms.

Thank you for listening!

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