Mr. Stanton broke ground in the National Park Service in 1962 when Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall sent him a personal letter inviting him to become a seasonal ranger at Grand Teton National Park. It reflected the Park Service's determination to become more diverse, and Mr. Stanton's storied career in the national parks reached a pinnacle when he was chosen Director of the National Park Service (NPS) in 1997. The 15th Director of the NPS made diversity a cornerstone of his administration. He recently retired from the Department of the Interior and is eager to contribute the wisdom accrued over 40-plus years to advance the public's understanding and appreciation of our national parks.

In 1998 Majora Carter rescued a stray dog and named her Xena after her favorite Saturday night show, "Xena: The Warrior Princess." Before long Xena introduced her to the Bronx River running through her own backyard, an asset previously shielded from Majora's view behind mounds of decaying development. Working with multiple partners and a $10k grant from the USDA Forest Service, Majora designed and launched a comprehensive rehabilitation campaign that cleaned up the area and returned it to the community as the waterfront jewel, Hunts Point Riverside Park, where she subsequently wed her husband. Having created one of the nation's first green jobs training and placements system to restore estuaries and brownfields, promote urban forestry and other climate adaptive trends, the expert in green infrastructure development is jumpstarting local economies across the country. A Peabody Award winning broadcaster and expert on climate and energy, she is also the winner of a MacArthur Genius Award. Her 2006 TED talk was one of the first six videos to launch their groundbreaking website. Majora serves on the Boards of the US Green Building Council and the Andrew Goodman Foundation.

As a member of the National Park System Advisory Board and a close collaborator with grassroots environmental leaders, Dr. Finney has a uniquely comprehensive view of the state of the conservation sector in America. A former actress who backpacked around the world and lived in the mountains of Nepal before returning to America, Dr. Finney is passionate about understanding people and their relationship to the land. Currently a professor in Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Finney's book, Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors was released June 2014 by UNC Press and is generating spirited conversations in her promotional appearances around the country.

Krischel, "Miss Teen Navajo 2013-14" is an ambassador and role model for other young people in her Navajo culture and in the wider world. With Navajo being her first language, the millennial leader easily bridges the gap between her Native Nation and the general public. A singer and songwriter, she uses her talents to augment her presentations and is featured on the National Park Service "Songs for Junior Rangers" CD. Krishel represents a voice seldom heard in urban areas - Native, millennial, knowledgeable and engaged with national parks. Krischel spent hundreds of volunteer hours working in the areas of interpretation, resource management and fee management at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, AZ. She currently resides in the splendor of Grand Canyon.

Celinda served as Assistant Director of Communications and Advisor to the Director for the National Park Service from 2009-2014. She was responsible for creating and fostering new strategic partnerships for outreach to diverse audiences and increasing overall awareness of national parks. She developed new models for outreach with national Latino organizations such as LULAC, NCLR, CHCI and national park partners and created education-based programs in national parks which are now serving more than 1,000 minority youth leaders each year. The award winning broadcast journalist with more than 20 years local and network television experience in Washington DC, Florida and Texas oversaw the Park Service's American Latino Heritage Initiative and coordinated the agency's outreach efforts to Members of Congress, stakeholders, and local communities. She also worked with park concessionaires and led the partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, coordinating high profile naturalization ceremonies with Cabinet Secretaries and media coverage in national parks.

Dorien Paul Blythers was a student at Howard University in Washington, DC when he led student efforts resulting in the first university-wide recycling mandate in the institution's 147-year history. He joined the National Ocean's Policy team at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) as an intern where he worked alongside former Arizona Governor and Interior Secretary, Bruce Babbitt. At EDF Dorien laid the groundwork for a "Partnership for Environmental Leadership" with Howard University, the first initiative of its kind, and publicly endorsed by former White House advisor, Van Jones. In 2012 Dorien spearheaded President Obama's reelection campaign in Riviera Beach, Florida. He continues to build at the intersection of environmental advocacy, diversity and outreach landing him opportunities with Congress; People for the American Way; The Outdoor Foundation; Sierra Club; U.S. Green Building Council, and The White House.

Marcelo, the son of socially-conscious parents who were active with the United Farm Workers in the early '70s, the Filipino community in Sacramento, and the Civil Rights Movement, developed an early affinity for nature and wildlife. With a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a master's from Tufts, he worked on biodiversity conservation, land use, and policy issues for numerous organizations, including Defenders of Wildlife, the National Park Service, and Massachusetts Audubon Society. Marcelo is founder and executive director of the Center for Diversity and the Environment where he works with leaders and environmental institutions to effectively embed diversity, equity, and inclusion in the foundation of their work. An Environmental Leadership Program Senior Fellow and a TogetherGreen Conservation Fellow, his work has been featured in The New York Times; High Country News; The Oregonian; Colors NW; Sustainlane.com; Saving Land Magazine; Diverse Issues in Higher Education Magazine and Sustainable Industries Magazine among many others. He is a published author in the book, Diversity and the Future of the U.S. Environmental Movement; the Land Trust Alliance's Special 25th Anniversary Issue; Grist Magazine and the journal Conservation Biology.

JT started his career in the National Park Service while majoring in Recreation and Parks Management at Texas A&M University, and landed his first permanent position at the Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi upon graduation. After completing his military obligation in 1972, JT returned to the NPS in Washington, D.C. as an Environmental Education Specialist. Trained at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Academy, JT's stellar 37-year career in the Park Service is marked by leadership in some of our country's most iconic parks - the Everglades; Grand Canyon; Yosemite; the Petrified Forest and Death Valley among them. Retiring from the Park Service in 2009, JT continues to pursue his passion to connect people and their parks. He serves on the boards of the National Parks Conservation Association; the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees Executive Council and the Quiet Storm Youth Advisory Council, and instructs Lifetime Adventures programs at two Las Vegas middle schools.