Overview

The University of California at Merced, with help from the Great Valley Center, and the National Park Service created the National Parks Institute Executive Leadership Seminar, designed specifically for leaders in park and protected area management. Participants will learn to lead strategic change by anticipating change, reinvigorating their organizations, and incorporating innovative thinking into their management. A practical framework will be applied to real-world case studies and take-home action plans. The Golden Gate in San Francisco, UC Merced and Yosemite National Park as used as field laboratories for discussion and learning.

Learn more: http://parkleadership.ucmerced.edu/

2012 Seminar

Thirty executives in park and protected area management from around the world have been accepted into the third National Parks Institute which will convene  April 17-28, 2012, for a 12-day intensive seminar on leadership, innovation and organizational renewal.  A key element in the design of the seminar is the journey participants take during the program.  The course will begin at the Institute at the Golden Gate in San Francisco, proceed to UC Merced, and finish in Yosemite National Park.  Through this journey, the seminar draws upon the resources and expertise unique to each location.

2011 Seminar

Twenty seven executives in park and protected area management from around the world attended the second National Parks Institute in  2011.  A highlight of last year’s seminar were lectures presented by Pulitzer Prize-winning ecologist and author E. O. Wilson and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.

Press Release on 2011 NPI:
National Parks, Reserved Lands the Focus of Leadership Seminar (03/09/11, UC Merced)

2010 Seminar

In May 2010 NPI graduated its inaugural class. Participants included 15 U.S. National Park Service leaders and 11 international participants from Australia, Bahamas, Bhutan, Chile, China, Germany, Kenya, Lebanon, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, and Paraguay. The seminar focused on leadership, innovation, and organizational renewal. Among the highlights of this first class was a presentation given by former President Jimmy Carter on the creation of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.