The NPI seminar agenda grows over time, but begins with a basic framework that ensures coverage of our leadership learning objectives. The course approach is to create a learning blend of academic thought leaders and researchers, with practitioners actually working in parks, mixed with field excursions that, taken together, create a learning experience that includes all the senses and is retained for the life of a career. Our aim is to ensure that the material learned may be practically applied in the most demanding real-world settings. This is why participants work on a case problem they bring from their home park, using the tools they learn in the seminar - to make sure there is a problem-solving reality check and opportunity for discussion during the seminar experience. At the end of the course, participants leave with a network of alumni friends as well as the teaching team, who are accessible as consulting colleagues from a globally scaled neighborhood.
TENTATIVE AGENDA
| THE LODGE AT TIBURON, MARIN COUNTY | APRIL | |
| APRIL 25 | |
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12 PM Seminar Check-in All sessions will be conducted in the Lodge at Tiburon - https://www.lodgeattiburon.com - except the evening reception, which will take place in the Surfbird Room at Cavallo Point Lodge, located in Golden Gate National Recreation Area 1 PM: Orientation Steve Shackelton – Executive Director, Gallo Management Program, University of California, Merced 1:15 Seminar Log in David Sibbet, Founder and President, The Grove Consultants International, San Francisco 2 PM Break 2:15 PM Sustainable Leadership Steve Shackelton - Defining leadership for the purposes of the course and introduction to the elements of sustainable leadership: law, science, and policy. 3:15 PM Participants’ Case Problems David Sibbet - Course participants will take three minutes to introduce their case problems to their classmates. 5 PM Break 5:30 PM Reception and Dinner Evening Reception at Cavallo Point in Golden Gate National Recreation Area to welcome participants and course supporters: Surfbird Room of the Registration Building, upstairs 6:30 PM Special Evening Welcoming Reception
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| APRIL 26 – MARIN, THE LODGE AT TIBURON | |
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7:00 AM Breakfast 8:00 AM Introduction to Charles O’Reilly: Leading Change and Organizational Renewal (LCOR) Steve Shackelton – Welcome Dr. O’Reilly and the relevance of the LCOR approach to parks and protected areas management and strategic problem-solving 8:30 AM Leading Change and Organizational Renewal LCOR Dr. Charles O’Reilly, Professor, Graduate School of Business, Executive Development, Stanford University – Dr. O’Reilly will set the stage for the seminar by exploring the certainty of change and a strategic way of thinking about change with a set of tools that equip us to welcome change and manage it to the best advantage of the park
10:15 Break 10:15 LCOR, continued Charles O’Reilly 12:00 PM Lunch 1:00 PM LCOR Participant Discussion and Wrap-up and Discussion Charles O’Reilly 2:00 PM Break 2:15 PM Introduction to Dr. Erik Rolland: Value Proposition Model and Parks 2:30 PM The Value Proposition Model and Parks – Understanding Stakeholder Drivers, Durable Solutions Dr. Erik Rolland, Dean, College of Business Administration, California Polytechnic University, Pomona – The importance of gaining an understanding of, and willingness to exercise empathy for stake-holder values in establishing enduring solutions 3:30 PM Break 3:45 PM Triple Bottom Line, Alignment with Stakeholders, and the Advance of Technology in Park Management Dr. Erik Rolland 5:00 PM Break, Exercise, Reflection, Communication with Home 6:00 PM Dinner
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| APRIL 27 – MARIN, THE LODGE AT TIBURON | |
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7:00 AM Breakfast 8:00 AM Travel to Alcatraz Ferry Terminal, San Francisco Participants will ride by van to San Francisco, Pier 33 to board the ferry to Alcatraz 8:30 AM Board ferry for Alcatraz 9:00 AM Historic Alcatraz Chapel – Lecture: Water, Climate and Policy Charles Strickfaden – National Park Service, Director External Affairs, Golden Gate National Recreation Area 11:00 AM Policy Discussion Lunch on Alcatraz Island 12:00 PM Walking Historical Tour of Alcatraz and Park Challenges Park Ranger, Historian, To Be Determined 1:00 PM Alcatraz Wrap-up David Sibbet 2:00 PM Return by ferry from Alcatraz Island to San Tiburon Travel to Embarcadero Pier and board vans to return to the Lodge at Tiburon 3:00 PM Park Leadership and Original Problem-solving: Using Law and Science to Deal with Problems We’ve Never Encountered Before Russell Galipeau, Superintendent, Channel Islands National Park (ret.), Adjunct Professor, California State University, Channel Islands
4:30 PM Review – Tagging Base with Case Problems David Sibbet and Russell Galipeau 5:00 PM Break, Exercise, Reflection, Communication with Home 6:00 PM Dinner 7:00 PM Free Evening – optional walk across the historic Golden Gate Bridge
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| UC MERCED CAMPUS | EL CAPITAN HOTEL |
| APRIL 28 |
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7:00 AM Breakfast 8:00 AM Load bus and check out for transition to Merced Shackelton, Miller, and Sibbet 8:30 AM Travel to Marine Mammal Rescue Center, Marin Headlands 9:00 AM Wildlife and Park Partnerships: Case Study of the Marine Mammal Rescue Center Dr. Jeff Boehm – Executive Director and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine The Critical Value of Park Partnerships 10:00 AM Depart for University of California, Davis Campus, School of Veterinary Medicine 12:00 PM UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine – Lecture Lunch - Impacts of Marijuana Cultivation on Wildlife; and Oiled Animal Response, University Partnerships Dr. Robert Poppenga – Head, Toxicology Section, California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis: Dr. Michael Ziccardi – Co-Director, Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center Dr. Kirsten Gilardi - Co-Director, Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, Executive Director, Gorilla Doctors and a Health Sciences Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine & Epidemiology, 2:00 PM Board vans for the University of California, Merced Campus 4:30 PM Arrive at Merced, El Capitan Hotel– Free time Register and unpack – an opportunity for contact with home 5:30 PM Walk to dinner at Ravello’s Restaurant 5:45 PM Dinner at Ravello's Restaurant – Pizza Buffet 7:00 PM Return to El Capitan – Free Evening
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| APRIL 29 – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED, EL CAPITAN HOTEL |
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7:00 AM Breakfast – El Capitan Hotel 8:15 AM Board vans for travel to the campus of UC Merced 8:45 AM Welcome and Vision for UC Merced and Protected Areas Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, Dr. Sam Traina: 9:30 AM Featured Lecture – Leadership and Vision Cameron Sholly – Superintendent, Yellowstone National ParkContemporary Challenges and Strategic Problem-Solving: Climate and Flooding, Employee Housing, Bison and Tribal Partners 11:00 AM Featured Lecture – Leadership and Change Cassius Cash – Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National ParkContemporary Challenges and Strategic Problem-Solving 12:00 PM Lunch – UC Merced 1:30 PM Preparing the Next Generation of Stewards – The Yosemite Leadership Program 2:00 PM Featured Lecture Clayton Jordan – Superintendent, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks 3:00 PM Service Thinking for Park Managers: Design, Operations and Quality Dr. Paul Maglio, Professor, Chair - Department of Management of Complex Systems, University of California, Merced 4:00 PM Indigenous Peoples and Parks: Understanding Essential Values of the First People Dr. Teenie Matlock – Professor, Deputy Provost, University of California, Merced 5:30 PM Leadership and Social Change Theory: Structured Look at Problem-solving for Today’s Context Dr. Charles Nies – Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, University of California, Merced Jesse Chakrin, Co-Director and Park Ranger, Yosemite National Park 5:30 PM Bar-b-Cue Dinner Lakeside at Lake Yosemite, Veterans Cove 7:00 PM Free Evening
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| APRIL 30 – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED, EL CAPITAN HOTEL |
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7:00 AM Breakfast – El Capitan 8:30 AM Board Vans for travel to campus at UC Merced Steve Shackelton – Introduction to lectures of the day: Technology, Service, and Indigenous Peoples and Parks 9:00 AM Super Challenge and Leading Change Keshav Varma, Co-Founder of Global Tiger Initiative – current CEO and Director of the Global Tiger Foundation 11:00 AM Super Challenge and Leading Change Speaker TBD 12:00 PM Lunch 1:00 PM National Parks Challenges - TBD 2:50 PM Break 3:05 PM David Gadsden – Director of Conservation Solutions at ESRI This section will pair an introductory lecture with field practice of new GIS technology designed to support park resource protection. Starting with data collection and moving to the creation of story maps. 4:30 PM Board transportation to El Capitan Hotel 6:00 PM Family Style Dinner – Treviño’s Mexican Restaurant, Address: 408 W Main St, Merced, CA 95340 7:30 PM Free Evening
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| YOSEMITE, TENAYA LODGE | APRIL |
| MAY 1 – YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, TENAYA LODGE |
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7:00 AM Breakfast – El Capitan Hotel 8:00 AM Pack and transportation for Yosemite National Park Class will leave UC Merced and travel to Tenaya Lodge via Hwy 140 to Hwy 49 and Hwy 41 to the Wawona Field Station of the University of California Natural Reserve System 10:00 AM Lecture - Wawona NRS Station: Innovations in Interpretation – Bringing the Difficult Narratives to Life Supervisory Yosemite Park Ranger, Shelton Johnson 11:00 AM Special Alumna Lecture- Parks as Models for Social Justice: Serving the Organization and Public Inclusively Dr. Rebecca Stanfield-McCown, Director, NPS Stewardship Institute, Woodstock, Vermont, NPI IV 12:30 PM Board transportation for Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias 12:45 PM Science as the Foundation for Sustainable Leadership in a Volatile World of Change and Risk: A Historic Fire Walk in the Sequoias Dan Buckley, Chief of Fire and Aviation, Yosemite National Park - Scientist Emeritus, Yosemite National Park 3:30 PM Board Shuttle Back to Parking 4:00 PM Board transportation for return to Tenaya Lodge 4:30 PM Tenaya Lodge – Break - Opportunity for Exercise, Reflection, Communication with Home 6:00 PM Dinner and Lecture – Proposed TR 7:30 PM TBD
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| MAY 2 - YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, TENAYA LODGE |
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7:00 AM Breakfast – Tenaya Lodge 8:00 AM Environmental Law, Policy, and Stakeholder Perceptions Dr. Jeffrey Jenkins, Assistant Professor, Gallo Program, UC Merced 9:00 AM Depart Tenaya Lodge for Day of Exploration, Yosemite Valley 9:30 AM Innovations in Environmental Education: Explore the National Environmental Science Center – NatureBridge Kristina Rylands, Regional Director, Yosemite Region, NatureBridge This field stop will explore the benefits and tensions of place-based environmental education. 10:30 AM Protecting Indigenous Stories – Yosemite Indian Village Dr. Julia Parker, Master Park Ranger (ret.) 11:00 AM Free Exploration of Yosemite Valley 4:30 PM Board transportation to Tenaya Lodge 6:00 PM Dinner – Tenaya Lodge 7:00 PM Special Presentation – Global Partnerships to Solve Complex Challenges – Sherpa Exchange: Nepal, Yosemite, Grand Teton, Denali Brandon Latham, Supervisory Park Ranger, Yosemite
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| MAY 3 - YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, TENAYA LODGE |
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7:00 AM Breakfast – Tenaya Lodge 8:00 AM Tough Challenges Today’s Leaders Face - Ensuring Accountability: Environmental Trends and Global Security Through Conservation of Natural Resources Gen. Anthony Jackson – Former Director, California State Parks, Adjunct Professor, California State University, Maj. General, United States Marine Corps (ret.) 9:00 AM A New Century of Resource Protection – University Partnership and Innovation Dean Emeritus Brett Wright – Clemson University, South Carolina, former Dean of the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Science, former Director of the Center for Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management 10:00 AM World Alliance in Resource Protection and Characteristics of Leadership Mr. Bruno LaPorte, Director, World Bank Institute (ret.), Washington, DC 11:00 AM Mapping Essential Partnerships – Stakeholder Analysis Mr. Bruno LaPorte, Director, World Bank Institute (ret.), Washington, DC 12:00 PM Lunch, Tenaya Lodge – Forest View Room 1:00 PM Group Exercise – Developing the Useful Stake-holder Landscape Mr. Bruno LaPorte, Director, World Bank Institute (ret.), Washington, DC Mark Marschall, Yosemite Wilderness Manager (ret.) 4:00 PM Break 6:00 PM Dinner – Tenaya Lodge 7:00 PM Free Evening |
| MAY 4 - YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, TENAYA LODGE |
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7:00 AM Breakfast – Tenaya Lodge 7:45 AM Collect Evaluations Steve Shackelton, Bruno LaPorte, Adam Miller 8:00 AM Report Out by Participants – Case Problems Facilitated by David Sibbet 9:00 AM Closing Circle - Reflection David Sibbet 10:00 AM Farewell and Certificates Adam Miller, Steve Shackelton 11:00 AM Board Transportation for the Bay Area
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CURRICULUM
This seminar is designed specifically for leaders in the 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. These four modules are incorporated throughout the 10-day intensive.
- Leading Change and Organizational Renewal
- Context Matters: Trends and Critical Issues in Public Land Management
- Innovation in the Field
- Generating Motivation and Commitment
Leading Change and Organizational Renewal
The leading organizations habitually innovate, adjust quickly to new conditions, and exploit emerging opportunities. They perform efficiently today while continuing to explore new sources of value for tomorrow. Such organizations don’t just happen; they’re created by leaders who understand the importance of change. Analyzing real-life successes and failures in both the corporate and public land management arenas, participants will learn how to anticipate, evaluate, and proactively respond to external changes, while examining how to balance innovation with performance. Participants will gain the tools and perspectives needed to develop specific action plans for renewing organizations.
Key takeaways:
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Learn a universally-adaptable framework and create a usable action plan for strategic leadership that includes:
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Setting a forward-thinking strategic direction with measurable objectives
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Analyzing performance gaps and opportunity gaps and their root causes
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Defining, diagnosing, and shaping desired culture change to execute strategy
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Managing for short-term solutions while building capacity for long-term strategic visioning & innovation
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Overcoming resistance to change
Context Matters: Trends and Critical Issues in Public Land Management
Managers need to understand the context in which they work in order to articulate a clear vision and set a strategic direction. The context surrounding today’s parks and protected areas are rapidly changing. They are linked to the economic welfare of nearby communities and to the global welfare at large. Boundary-crossing issues of global concern such as climate change, watershed protection, and an increase in the severity of wildfires have arisen. Partnerships and fundraising have become central to park operations, and parks are increasingly struggling with relevancy due to demographic changes and cultural shifts. Public land managers need to be sure they understand the current context in which they work in order to implement informed, forward-thinking decisions.
The course will present situations that encourage participants to think about trends that may impact them in the future. Embedded in this module are answering the questions, "Are we moving in the right direction?" and "How can we anticipate these changes rather than simply react?"
Innovation in the Field
In the past, public land management agencies and institutions have worked primarily within the context of their own organizations—possibly insulated from breakthroughs and revised thinking in disciplines that may have relevancy in public land management. Creative, fresh thinking and interdisciplinary collaboration across agencies is needed in addressing pressing issues identified in the “Context matters” module and in their individual parks.
This module will focus on expanding the opportunities and mindset of public land managers in imagining possibilities through contact with innovators and best on-the-ground practices in a variety of disciplines. Participants will learn how emerging technologies and creative communication may allow for more effective operations. Besides hearing from leading innovators, participants will become a think tank of ideas through the creation of a global cohort network of park and protected area leaders.
Generating Motivation and Commitment
One of the most challenging tasks for a leader is to generate the motivation and commitment necessary to implement change efforts. Managers need to analyze the current culture’s ability to execute the desired strategy, and, if necessary, shape the culture. In doing so, they create satisfied employees who understand the goals they are working toward. Highly engaged employees tend to be more resilient to, and supportive of, organizational change initiatives, and can lead to better company performance overall. Strong leaders help shape culture by building clear and consistent communication across the organization, empowering employees, and creating systems for rewards and incentives.
