Who Runs This Park, Manhattan, New York, NY (2025)

02/26/2025

Made a poster for the documentary!!!

Excited to keep everyone posted as we schedule screenings and eventually post the documentary itself for folks to watch 😊

Beyond proud of the final product and thankful for & .jernberg for their work and guidance (as this is my first film!!)

Didn’t realize how important telling the story of the park rangers and National Park Service employees would be when we filmed this documentary back in September of last year

01/29/2025

5 memorable moments interviewing national park superintendents:

1. “You try to do the best job that you can in the time that you’re in these places. And then at some point it’ll be time for someone else to take over.”
- Cam Sholly, Superintendent —

2. “I always try to remember how much it thrilled me to then meet a park ranger and to remember that for when somebody is running up to me, especially somebody young, and asking me a question. I try to picture myself in that person because you never know who you’re influencing for the next generation.”
- Clay Jordan, Superintendent —

3. “Minerva Hoyt is referred to as the founder of Joshua Tree, the fairy godmother of Joshua Tree. she is somebody who epitomizes that notion of the power of one. what can one person do on this planet to make a difference?”
- Jane Rodgers, Superintendent —

4. “right now there are 433 units in the National Park Service System. And I really think these sites collectively tell such an amazing story of who we are as a nation.”
- Andrea Compton, Superintendent —

5. “These trees live for thousands of years. They’re giant, right? And so acre for acre, the Redwood forest is the best carbon sink on the planet, better than the Amazon, better than anywhere else. so it’s truly an amazing story and the benefits are so, so widespread.”
- Steven Mietz, Superintendent —

Thankful for the ways the and National Parks inspire us!

Who Runs This Park is a podcast that interviews National Park Superintendents, link in comments to listen!

Do you have a favorite quote/moment from an episode

12/04/2024

An episode with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) President, Sandy Colhoun.

I (Maddie, host of Who Runs This Park) first fell in love with NOLS back in 2022 when I took a Wilderness First Aid course, and that love has only grown since. It was such an honor to interview Sandy!

We had a FUN conversation, covering everything from Sandy’s own adventures—like biking in the Himalayas and ski patrolling at Park City (my dream!)—to diving into all things NOLS. We chatted about Expedition Behavior and how the Navy and NASA utilize NOLS courses as a part of their training curriculum.

A few favorite takeaways:

“Life happens at the intersection of opportunity and preparation.”

“Each time you take a leap of faith, stepping outside your comfort zone, and it works out alright, your confidence and tolerance for risk grow.”

“The wilderness is our great equalizer.”

Link in Who Runs This Park’s bio to listen!

11/19/2024

Who Runs This Park Park Enthusiasts episode released today with Collyn “Doc” Nielsen, host of Hiker Trash Radio podcast.

It’s a unique episode format for the both of us! Together we highlight noteworthy moments from each of our podcasts. Maddie highlights conversations with the Grand Teton National Park Superintendent, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve Superintendent, and the Kobuk Valley National Park Superintendent. Doc covers an exceptional expeditionist, an unbelievably thrilling finish to the world’s toughest race, and an epic cyclist. You don’t want to miss this episode.

P.S. this episode was recorded back in August so a few things (like filming the WRTP documentary) happened already!

Link in WRTP’s bio to listen!

11/13/2024

Day 3 recap took me a while—partly because I was traveling (my sister ran a marathon!) and partly because it was a BIG day, packed with emotions.

The night before, I camped in Yosemite Valley after a late conference session. I arrived at my campsite around 10:30 PM, setting up in the dark. It was my first time camping by myself, which was a bit nerve-wracking.

The next morning, I set out around 7:00 AM to hike El Capitan, a 16-mile, 9-hour trek with 4,799 ft of elevation. The first three miles were straight up with 139 switchbacks—brutal but invigorating.

Things got interesting once I reached the forest: I didn’t see a single person for five hours. I got very in my head, thinking about bears and mishaps. I have clearly been listening to too many podcasts about people going missing in national parks and bear attacks. Pretty early into the forest, I realized I wasn’t enjoying it but stubbornly kept going.

When I got to the top, I was so worried about getting back down without mishap that I couldn’t even enjoy the view.

When I finally finished, I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. I treated myself to pizza in the valley and a hotel room in Oakhurst rather than another night of solo camping.

The big lesson? Listen to my body. There’s a line between pushing through a challenge and pushing so far it’s just not fun. This didn’t fall into Type 2 fun for me because since I was so on edge for so long, I felt pretty depleted the following days. My adventurous fire will return, I have no doubt, but for now, I rest 😇

P.S. I still LOVE Yosemite and very much so look forward to returning!!!

Don’t worry, still took selfies!

1. Sun coming over the horizon: happy girl
2. First pic in the forest, smiling thru the fear :’)
3. Snack post three mile climb straight up hill, sweaty face
4. A tamale to-go. This tamale kept me going
5. Selfie of Half Dome at the top of El Cap
7. Video of the forest
8. The bug I got in my eye
9. Justin’s “nutella” treat for making it out of the forest alive 😅
10. Idk, a tired selfie?
11. Final view of Half Dome

11/12/2024

Happy episode release day!!

Who Runs This Park is releasing an episode with our fabulous superintendent, Greg Hauburger, giving a behind the scenes look at stories from Congaree National Park.

For those of you who are new, Who Runs This Park is a labor of love that showcases the untold stories of people serving and protecting our national parks for over 100 years (truly a miracle). These stories of national park superintendents have never before gotten the attention and appreciation they deserve. I can guarantee how you view our National Parks and protected lands will change and you will leave more inspired. At the precipice of unprecedented challenges in the park service and in conservation in general, these conversations are crucial. Together we are building a community of park enthusiasts and stewards.

Check out the link in Who Runs This Park’s bio to listen to the podcast now!!

11/08/2024

Yosemite Day 2 Part 2

Moderating the panel with the President and CEO of the , the Executive Director of , the Executive Director of the National Park Friends Alliance, the Executive Director of
, and the Executive Director of . Quite a star-studded panel!!

We talked about the Legacy of Preservation and how the role of non-profit partners has changed over time and how their role now is more crucial than ever. Recording quality pending, we may be able to publish the panel as a podcast episode so stay tuned!

11/05/2024

Big Day!! is releasing an episode with the podcast hosts, and !

If you are a NPAD fan you won’t want to miss this!

Get a behind the scenes look at everything that goes into making NPAD: their most memorable outdoor experiences, the trail tale that makes them laugh uncontrollably until this day, how they manage the excess of spooky stories when they are recreating, their favorite books they have read while researching for episodes and the why behind their favorite national parks, among many other things!

Thanks for a great chat Danielle and Cassie! 🏔️🥾🤩

Link in WRTP’s bio!

11/04/2024

Yosemite Day 2

Day 2 was the actual conference.

I can’t express how amazing it was to meet people who love national parks as much as I do—or even more! It was surreal to be in a room full of people who knew about and had listened to my podcast, especially since it’s still pretty small. 🤩 How cool to have folks call out random details from different episodes!!

You know it was a big day because I even curled my hair! To put into perspective, I typically only do that for weddings.

I did a bad job taking pictures — oops, my bad! I was caught up in the day. Below are the big takeaways from the day, but much of the day was filled with chatting and even meeting superintendents in person who I’d previously only interviewed virtually.

In the morning, I interviewed Cicely Muldoon, Yosemite’s Superintendent, and Frank Dean, the President and CEO of the Yosemite Conservancy. It was my first time conducting an interview in person, and I *loved* it! It was so fun to actually have a face-to-face conversation—I hope to grow big enough someday to do all interviews in person. 😊

In the afternoon, I moderated a panel with five leaders across the national park nonprofit space! It was my first time moderating a panel, and it was quite fun but also challenging to keep the momentum going between questions. We only had two microphones, so we were passing them back and forth a bit, but we figured it out :)

At dinner, we all watched a screening of .film, a documentary made by . It follows two childhood friends (Brendan being one of them) as they roadtrip across 10,000 miles of national parks to share human stories along the way. Since, as you know, I am in the process of making my first documentary, I LOVED this story, and it was so cool to see another film in the national park space 💗

11/01/2024

I got to go to Yosemite National Park for a work trip!!!

The National Park Friends Alliance had a conference, and I moderated a panel and did an in person interview with the Yosemite Superintendent and Yosemite Conservancy President and CEO (but more about that on the Day 2 recap).

I was in Yosemite for 3 days so will be doing a day by day recap.

Yosemite Day 1!

I drove into Yosemite Valley and hiked Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point. The road to Glacier Point was closed (for the season), so it was a great time to go to the viewpoint because the only way there was a 4.6 mile hike (one way) with 3,418 ft of elevation! Apparently way less of a crowd than normal!

This was a big day because it was my first hike EVER by myself. I actually really enjoyed myself and the time to think, pray and just be (and towards the end I was just looking forward to being done hah).

I also got to explore Yosemite Valley itself, and it is like a little village. There is a STARBUCKS! In a national park! What the heck!

After exploring and getting a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks (yes sometimes I am basic 🫠), I drove to Tenaya Lodge for the welcome reception of the conference. Meeting folks in the space I have spent the last two years learning about was AMAZING

Fav photos (i.e. only photos 😂) from day 1 👇🏼

1. Half Dome lookin’ like a beaut!
2. Selfie with Half Dome (I had never been on a hike by myself before so lots of .5 selfies)
3. Another Half Dome Selfie but half way up the hike
4. The valley!!
5. It started snowing!!
6. Fall colors!
7. 1st hike by myself ✅

10/29/2024

What a FUN conversation. New episode live TODAY with podcast hosts, Joe & Mike.

We honestly just have a good time laughing and joking as they share their craziest outdoor experiences (like camping overnight with armed park rangers searching for an aggressive grizzly in Glacier National Park) and their most memorable episodes, among other random things.

Locations Unknown is a podcast that delves into unexplained and unsolved disappearances in America’s wilderness, highlighting some of the eerie circumstances that often accompany these cases, such as search and rescue efforts being hampered by storms and missing individuals being found in semi-conscious states with no memory of their disappearance — definitely go check them out!!

I don’t know how they do it because I was spooked out having spent too much time listening to their episodes the last time I was out in the backcountry, but it’s too good to not listen to!

As always, link in bio.

10/15/2024

From a media trip “gone wrong” to AI’s role in journalism to the inspiration that we are not to underestimate ourselves and our ability to figure things out when embarking on a new journey, our conversation with Adam Ruggiero, Editor In Chief & Podcast Host of GearJunkie is not one to miss!

Be inspired to quit your job and move to a coffee farm in Hawaii or to pursue a degree in journalism. Journalism (and starting a podcast) unlocks the ability to have conversations with people you simply wouldn’t be able to otherwise.

If you need a nudge to take a chance and pursue that dream you have been thinking about for awhile, this quote may push you to take action: “You can only plan for so much and then to really know how you’re going to succeed, you have to start doing it.” In the words of Nike, Just Do It!

Check link in Who Runs This Park’s bio to listen to our newest episode!

Who Runs This Park

02/26/2025

01/29/2025

12/04/2024

11/19/2024

11/13/2024

11/12/2024

11/08/2024

11/05/2024

11/04/2024

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10/29/2024

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