Telling the Full American Story Through New National Parks

How NPCA is working to create, expand and support new national park sites that protect all facets of American history

Event Details:

Join us on October 30 for a virtual Park Talk to learn how NPCA is working to ensure the full American story is told through the National Park System by creating, expanding and supporting new national park sites that preserve our nation's history. 

Attendees will hear from NPCA’s panel of experts as they discuss three newly established national parks: Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Illinois and Mississippi, established in 2023; Amache National Historic Site in Colorado, established in 2022; and Blackwell School National Historic Site in Texas, established in 2022. Panelists will discuss the history the parks protect, the importance of ensuring these places are protected and how safeguarding these places as national parks help to enshrine and interpret a more complete American story. 

Event Details

WHEN: Wednesday, October 30 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

WHERE: Online via Zoom; a link will be provided upon RSVP

RSVP

Featured Speakers:

Alan Spears, Senior Director of Cultural Resources, NPCA

Alan joined NPCA in 1999 and is currently the Senior Director of Cultural Resources in the Government Affairs department. He serves as NPCA's resident historian and cultural resources expert. Alan is the only staff person to ever be rescued from a tidal marsh by a Park Police helicopter. Alan worked for NPCA’s Enhancing Cultural Diversity program managing the National Parks Community Partners program from 1999 to 2003. This initiative was designed to connect national parks in Boston, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco more closely to racially and ethnically diverse constituents. The Community Partners created a ground-breaking youth employment program, a guide to understanding the National Park Service hiring process, and launched a volunteer service initiative in northeast Washington, DC, which ultimately grew into a highly successful friends group. After joining the Government Affairs department Alan gained introduction and passage of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Funding Re-authorization Act of 2008. More recently, as a part of the Government Affairs department, Alan has led, co-led, or supported five successful national monument campaigns including Fort Monroe, Harriet Tubman, Charles Young, and Pullman. Alan is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC, and his writing has appeared in the Civil War Times Illustrated and National Parks magazine. 

Tracy Coppola, Colorado Senior Program Manager, NPCA

Tracy Coppola is based in Denver and serves as the Colorado Senior Program Manager for the Southwest Regional Office. She is proud to have the opportunity to celebrate her state's incredible parks and advocates. Prior to NPCA, Tracy was at Earthjustice where she served as Senior Legislative Counsel on public lands policy and worked on campaigns to defend bedrock environmental laws and protect national forests, parks, and monuments primarily in the Southwest and Northern Rockies. Her other nonprofit roles include serving as Director of Wildlife Protection for the Humane Society of the U.S. and as a campaigns officer for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. She has worked on campaigns to protect vulnerable and endangered species; lobbied Congress on natural resource trade; passed statewide public safety and domestic violence survivor protection bills; and created non-traditional alliances and coalitions, which she has found to be the most interesting and rewarding part of her work.

Cristóbal López, Texas Field Representative, NPCA

Cristóbal López joined NPCA in 2023 as a Texas Field Representative. Cristóbal earned his M.A. in History from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2022 and his B.A. in History from Tarleton State University in 2019. He wrote this M.A. thesis on the history of Mexican immigration and labor from 1930-1980. His area of focus includes the U.S. Southwest Borderlands and Mexican immigration. Since finishing his M.A., he has served as an advocate for public history and cultural resource management.Prior to joining NPCA, Cristóbal served as an intern for San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. During his internship, he completed a historical report on the cemetery at Mission San Jose and another on the history of land tenure following secularization in 1824. He has presented his research to mission descendant groups through public talks and workshops. Cristóbal also served as an intern for NPCA during the summer of 2022, where he transcribed and archived interviews of Blackwell School alumni..