Parks Group Gives Cultural Diversity Recommendations To Director of National Park Service; Media Invited to Attend Historic Presentation by Community Partners.

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) embarked recently on a nationwide initiative through its Community Partners program to connect the leadership and employees of the National Park Service (NPS) with minority communities and people of color. These partners are now prepared to present NPS Director Robert Stanton with 12 recommendations as to how the National Park Service can enhance cultural diversity throughout all levels and aspects of the Park Service.

When: Monday, July 24

10:00 AM

Where: Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site 

1318 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC

Respond: Call Roger Di Silvestro 202-454-3335 if you would like to

attend.

The Community Partners will call upon the Director at Monday's presentation to implement a national diversity initiative throughout the parks. The Community Partners are made up of organizations dedicated to issues of diversity across the country. Several cities, including Washington, San Francisco, and Boston, have Community Partner programs. All National Parks Community Partners will come together in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in November for a conference addressing diversity in our National Parks.

The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House was the headquarters for the National Council of Negro Women, established by Bethune in 1935. NPCA is proud to sponsor this event at such an historic site.

The National Parks Conservation Association is America's only private, nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated solely to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the National Park System. NPCA was founded in 1919 and today has more than 400,000 members.

NPCA -- Protecting Parks for Future Generations

A library of national park information, including fact sheets, congressional testimony, position statements, press releases and media alerts, can be found on NPCA's web site at http://www.npca.org.

CONTACT: Roger Di Silvestro of the National Parks Conservation Association, 202-454-3335.