Meet the Staff

Ken Tichelbaut, Vice President, Center for Park Management
Ken’s love of the National Parks began with a hike on the Appalachian Trail and has led to a lifelong quest to visit all of the Parks. His wife, Barb, shares this passion, as they began their marriage by hiking Isle Royal for a honeymoon adventure. They are joined by their three children in seeking out new park destinations for family vacations. Trained in Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Ken worked with Cooperative Extension as Regional Specialist and taught nursery management at SUNY Cobleskill. Moving into marketing with Ball Horticultural/PanAmerican Seeds, he managed international relationships with partner firms which eventually led Ken to pursue a Masters of Management at Kellogg – Northwestern University. The core of Ken’s work is built on empowering leaders to engage and equip teams to become best-of-class competitors. He has contributed as consulting partner, president, publisher, executive director, professor, and guest lecturer. Working with alliance partners in the US, Europe, and Central America, his clients span diverse industries. Prior to full time consulting, Ken led a 10 yr strategic turnaround initiative that resulted in print and web launches, and ultimately contributed to attaining the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Michael Heaney, Deputy Vice President, Center for Park Management
An alum of NPCA's Business Plan program, Michael joined NPCA on a full-time basis in 2002 to head the implementation of management strategies in parks- a program that helps parks to implement management solutions to a variety of financial, operational and organizational issues. To date, Michael has now visited over 100 national parks and led projects in around twenty national parks. Michael shares his love of parks with his wife Tipton- a former Course Director for Outward Bound and now a practicing physician. Prior to joining NPCA, Michael gained extensive international experience in the business arena- working in Europe and Asia, where he led projects in enterprise-wide process and organization change, procurement and strategic sourcing. A native of Scotland, Mike holds a Bachelor's degree from De Montfort University in England and a MBA with concentrations in finance and technology management from The Graduate School of Management at the University of California in Davis. Michael's pursuit of the outdoors is fuelled by his interest in photography, sailing and as a SCUBA diving instructor.

Jamie Varner, Senior Director, Center for Park Management
Jamie joined the Center for Park Management in March 2008 driven by a love of nature and a desire to help make the world a better place. Immediately prior to joining CPM he was with Hertrick & Associates, a public accounting firm that specializes in providing Controller and CFO level services to privately held businesses. Jamie has also owned and operated a $6 million manufacturing company, been Vice President and a Financial/Operations Analyst for a $600 million distributor, and worked with several early stage companies. Prior to starting his business career he earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the University of Delaware, and a MBA from Wharton. Jamie is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an active license with the State of Maryland. His favorite outdoor activities are hiking, kayaking, and skiing; and getting his family outdoors as much as possible spending several weeks each year in the Adirondacks.

Marvin Schroeder, Senior Director, Center for Park Management
Marvin Schroeder joins us with over ten years of business consulting, marketing and government contracting experience. He obtained a BA of Middle East Studies from Brigham Young University in 1995 and a MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in 1998. Marvin's experience includes consulting with Arthur Andersen, Product Marketing and Business Planning at Hewlett-Packard and most recently Site and Program Management of several government contracts operating in the Middle East and Central Asia. Most recently Marvin was a program manager for SOS International (SOSi) in Reston, VA where he managed a $200 million dollar contract with the Multinational Corps Iraq which included management of a staff of more than 400 US and Local National advisors and analysts. Marvin's first love is the outdoors. He grew up in the Mountain West where he developed an emotional tie to the numerous national parks and wilderness area nearby. He has a wife and two young children, girl and boy and resides in Reston, VA but is now seriously thinking of relocating to the city or abandoning modern life to live in a cabin.

Jodie Riesenberger, Program Director, Center for Park Management
Jodie joined NPCA in the fall of 2004. As Program Director she is involved with many aspects of the Center’s program work as well as fundraising efforts. She has a background that includes both programmatic, and fundraising work in international development, population and conservation. Prior to joining NPCA, Joidie worked at the Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) where she was responsible for foundation relations. Prior to that she worked at Population Action International and Conservation International on population, health and environment issues. She holds a Masters in Public Health/International Development from George Washington University. She conducted her graduate fieldwork in the Peruvian Tropical Andes. She has a BA from State University of New York at Oswego. She is an avid runner, occasional triathlete and general outdoor enthusiast.

Jeff Bransford, Associate Director, Center for Park Management
An avid explorer of national parks, Jeff joined the Center for Park Management in June 2006. He has held multiple positions with the National Park Service, including Park Ranger, Volunteer Coordinator, Management Assistant, and Business Plan Consultant. Also, Jeff's experience includes working as a Program Coordinator at the Supreme Court of the United States and as a Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Active in several professional and civic organizations, he served as President of the National Recreation and Park Association Student Branch in 2000-01 and has received an Award of Excellence from the National Society for Park Resources. In 2005, Jeff earned a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Science in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management from Clemson University.

Omolara Fafore, Director, Center for Park Management
Omolara joined NPCA in January of 2008 with over seven years of experience in providing research, capacity building, and evaluation services to government agencies, nonprofits, and social services organizations. Prior to joining NPCA, Omolara worked at the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and the Association for the Study and Development of Community. At each of these organizations, Omolara worked to identify ways to improve the effectiveness of social services, advocacy, and environmental groups as well as public private partnerships and philanthropic foundations. Omolara holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown. When she is not working to build the capacity of organizations, Omolara enjoys long scenic walks, hiking, and the outdoors.

Hayley Mortimer, Director, Center for Park Management
As an alum from NPCA’s Business Plan Initiative, Hayley joined NPCA’s Center for Park Management to help develop sustainable strategies that meet park management needs. Prior to joining NPCA, Hayley was an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton in the Economic and Business Analysis Group. Her work primarily focused on providing market research, financial analysis and asset management strategies for the NPS,  BLM and the Forest Service. Before Booz Allen, Hayley was the Managing Partner and Co-Owner of Ripple Effect Consulting.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a MPA from Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Her love and commitment to national parks began in 1997 as a member of a trails crew in Yellowstone where she worked on back country trails for a season.  Hayley is married to Greg Findley, also a former BPI alum.  When she is not chasing after her 11-month old son Parker, Hayley spends her time telemark skiing in the Rocky Mountains and traveling to Latin America to scope out trips for her husband’s international adventure travel company.

Kristen McConnell, Associate Director, Center for Park Management
Kristen grew up vacationing every summer and winter in national parks in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, and joined CPM in January 2008 in order to support the parks in a new and different way. Kristen came to NPCA from Environmental Defense, where she researched issues related to sustainable fisheries management in the Gulf of Mexico. She earned a Masters in Public Affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin, and worked for the National Park Service as a Business Plan Consultant and then Partnership Researcher for the Northeast Regional Office during her time in grad school. She has extensive experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, and board development as well, and received her Bachelor's degree from New York University. Kristen spends her free time gardening, hiking, camping and rock climbing with her husband and two dogs. 

Minda Polser,Program Coordinator, Center for Park Management
As an archaeology lover, rock climber, and Wilderness First Responder, Minda was drawn to NPCA for its mission and ideals. She joined the organization in December 2006 after experiencing several national parks both as a climber and interested visitor. Minda has worked as a climbing instructor, coach, and team-building facilitator and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a BA in Archaeological Anthropology.

Devon Radosevich, Program Coordinator, Center for Park Management
Devon joined NPCA in February 2008. As an avid traveler and backpacker, Devon's passion for protected areas and love for the outdoors was shaped by family vacations to the Western National Parks and trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in her home state of Minnesota. Prior to joining NPCA Devon worked, studied, and lived abroad, experiencing protected areas in Costa Rica, New Zealand and Australia. She has also worked as a library manager in academic institutions for several years and interned with The Nature Conservancy and World Resources Institute. She holds a B.S. in Recreation Resource Management with a concentration in Resource Based Tourism from the College of Natural Resources at the University of Minnesota. She is currently studying for a Masters of Tourism Administration, concentrating on Sustainable Destination Management at George Washington University.

Monica Rosenberg, Management Analyst, Center for Park Management
Monica joined NPCA in July of 2007. As a National Parks enthusiast, Monica spends a great deal of her leisure time exploring, hiking, and camping in the parks.  Now she is lucky enough to have a career that combines her passions for both business strategy and park appreciation. Monica graduated in 2004 with a B.S. from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce and worked previously as Compliance Manager for a Business Intelligence software company in Virginia.

Margaret Ryan, Associate Director, Center for Park Management
Margaret joined NPCA in the winter of 2008. As an Associate Director, she enjoys using her diverse background to help parks think strategically on both systemic and park-specific issues. Her background includes a mix of scientific and business consulting in the private and non-profit sectors. She most recently worked as a business consultant for an organic dried fruit company in Uganda on behalf of Traidlinks, an Irish non-profit that provides business support to small companies in the developing world. Prior to that, Margaret worked as an Environmental Scientist for Waterborne Environmental, a boutique scientific and regulatory consulting firm, and as a disaster relief volunteer post-Hurricane Katrina. She holds an M.B.A. from University College Dublin’s Smurfit School of Business and a B.Sc. in Environmental Science from Iowa State University. Happy to be back in the country after some years abroad, Margaret is looking forward to putting her tent to good use in the beautiful parks of home.

Charity Self, Director, Center for Park Management
Charity joined CPM in March 2008 as a Director. Charity brings over seven years of consulting experience to help with park management issues. She also has five years of experience in the non-profit sector handling public relations, media relations, and special events. Charity holds a B.A. in Political Science from Elon University and a M.A. in International Relations, with a concentration in public policy, from Baylor University. As part of her graduate studies, Charity worked on ecotourism projects in Belize and Guatemala.

Cyndi Szymanski, Director, Center for Park Management
Cyndi joined NPCA in March of 2008 after working for 8 years in the Washington, DC office of the National Park Service. Originally hired as a Presidential Management Fellow, she worked on national program management issues with the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program. In addition to working on outdoor recreation issues, Cyndi served as a training manager, worked on the EPA/NPS Groundwork partnership, and managed the service-wide Challenge Cost Share program. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco working on an Environmental Education project in the proposed Eastern High Atlas National Park. Cyndi has a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from Cornell University, a M.S. from SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and an M.P.A. from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Cyndi lives in Takoma Park, Maryland with her husband, two daughters and dog. She spends her free time in the Appalachians trying to get herself and her family outdoors as much as possible.

Last Update: May 5, 2008