Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters

Heather Holm, California State Parks Director of Interpretation and Education, Talks Story with Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney

Heather Holm is the Chief of the Interpretation and Education Division of California State Parks and is the guest of Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney on Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters podcast. Heather has 22 years of experience in interpretation, having worked in various positions in California State Parks. Her work experience includes interpretive program development and facilitation, distance learning program development, project management, policy development, interpretive planning, intellectual property rights administration, and interpretive training development and facilitation. She has also worked in various non-profit museums and archives doing collection work, research, and record processing.
 
Heather is passionate about supporting front-line interpretive staff and volunteers in their work, and coaching and mentoring interpreters. She has a Master of Arts degree in Public History from California State University, Sacramento.
 
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters  #HEARTApproach#Interpretation #InterpretiveGuide #CaliforniaStateParks #ExploreCalifornia #CAStateParks #SeeCalifornia #CaliforniaNature #CaliforniaHistory #CaliforniaOutdoors

Daniel Martinez, NPS Pearl Harbor Historian and Interpreter Talks Story with Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman

Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney talk story with Daniel Martinez on Reflections on Interpretation. For historian Daniel Martinez, history isn’t just something to study—it’s something you feel. After 44 years with the National Park Service, most recently as historian at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Martinez reflects on a career dedicated to keeping the past vividly alive.
From his own family’s memories of December 7, 1941 to his years connecting with survivors, leaders, and visitors, Martinez has helped countless people see the human side of history—and feel its lasting presence.
He shares the stories, moments, and relationships that shaped his life’s work from his start at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument to Pearl Harbor and why the lessons of war, peace, and resilience still matter today.
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters  #HEARTApproach #MatherTrainingCenter #NPSInterpretation #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation #nps #nationalpark #nationalparks #nationalparkservice #OralHistory #HumanHistory #PearlHarbor #WWIIHistory #December71941 #PearlHarborRemembrance

Gary Candelaria Talks Story with Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman on Reflections on Interpretation

Gary Candelaria brings a lifetime of dedication to America’s public lands to this episode of Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters. Raised in Los Angeles and inspired early on to become a park ranger, he pursued that dream through a forestry degree at Oregon State University before entering the prestigious Intake Ranger program in 1975. His first assignment at Saratoga National Historical Park during the nation’s Bicentennial set the stage for a distinguished National Park Service career.
Candelaria went on to serve in key leadership roles across the country, Assistant Chief of Interpretation at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Chief Ranger at Sitka National Historical Park, and Superintendent at Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Pinnacles (then National Monument), and Wrangell–St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Along the way he earned a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and worked in Washington, D.C., as assistant to Director Roger Kennedy.
Before retiring in 2008, Candelaria capped his service as Assistant Director of Harpers Ferry Center and Associate Regional Director for Cultural Resources in Omaha. Now living in Sharpsburg, Maryland, he continues contributing to historical scholarship as a contractor for the U.S. Navy, updating the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Join Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman as Gary reflects on a remarkable career shaped by curiosity, stewardship, and a deep commitment to interpretation.
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters  #HEARTApproach #MatherTrainingCenter #NPSInterpretation #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation #nps #nationalpark #nationalparks #nationalparkservice

Costa Dillon Talks Story with Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman on Reflections on Interpretation

Costa Dillon is a retired National Park Service ranger and park superintendent who worked in more than a dozen parks in his 35-year career including as Superintendent of Indiana Dunes National Park, Fire Island National Seashore, and the Horace Albright Training Center. He is the recipient of the Department of the Interior’s Meritorious Service Award, the National Parks Conservation Association's Stephen Mather Award, and the National Association for Interpretation’s Meritorious Service Award.
Mr. Dillon has a B.S. from the University of California, Davis, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado. Costa has been an adjunct faculty member of the University of New Hampshire and Indiana University where he is an Honorary Fellow of the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands.. He currently teaches at San Diego State University and California State University, San Marcos.
Mr. Dillon is the creator and principal writer of the feature film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, as well as five other feature motion pictures. 
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters   #VoicesOfInterpretation #HeritageInterpretation #NationalParks, #InterpretiveVoices, #NPSVoices, #KillerTomatoes

T. Lindsay Baker, Historian and Author, Talks Story with Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney on Reflections on Interpretation

Join Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney for a fascinating conversation with T. Lindsay Baker, a historian of the American West who doesn’t just write about the past, he’s lived it.
Author of more than two dozen peer-reviewed histories and a lifelong interpreter, Baker brings academic rigor and interpretive insight together in ways few others do. Known for using first-person interpretive scenarios in his university classrooms and immersive living history to inform his writing, Lindsay once built and lived in a sod house on the Great Plains for 18 months, just to better understand frontier life.
T. Lindsay shows how deep empathy and lived experience can change how we teach, write, and guide at the intersections of history, storytelling, and self-awareness. Whether you’re a museum educator, park interpreter, or heritage trainer, this episode will challenge and inspire you to think differently about how and why we interpret.
He's also a Fulbright Scholar and Texas Tech alum who held curatorial and faculty roles at major institutions across Texas and beyond. But we think you’ll appreciate him most for his humility, humor, and the way he helps us see interpretation as a tool for deep connection.
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters  #HEARTApproach #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation #heritage interpretive guide
 

Tim Merriman Talks Story on Reflections on Interpretation: What is the Purpose of Heritage Interpretation?

For more than fifty years, I’ve been asking one question: What is the purpose of heritage interpretation? Early in my career, a few key experiences set me on a path of reflection—a path that has shaped every step of my professional life since.
Few of us have the luxury of working in isolation or for ourselves alone. If interpretation is to be meaningful and sustainable, it must do more than entertain or inform. We have to protect the resource itself and nurture the circumstances that make interpretation possible. That means building purpose—real, intentional purpose—into everything we plan and do.
I’m Tim Merriman, and in this week’s episode of Reflections on Interpretation, I share a story from my early years—one that forever changed how I think about purpose in our work. It began with a simple question from another trainer: Why did purpose become so important to you so early on?
Join me for this short, heartfelt episode. I hope it inspires you to think about how your work supports the mission and purpose of your organization—and why that purpose matters to you.

Dr. Robert Powell and Dr. Marc J. Stern Talk Story with Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman on Reflections on Interpretation

Dr. Robert Powell’s research at Clemson University focuses on informal STEM education, interpretation, protected area management, and sustainable tourism. He has led multiple NSF-funded national studies on learning outcomes in parks and environmental education, publishing over 100 peer-reviewed articles. A former U.S. Canoe and Kayak Team member, Bob spent 20 years guiding whitewater and sea kayaking tours spanning 45+ countries and seven continents before earning his PhD from Yale University in 2005.
Dr. Marc J. Stern is a professor in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment, where he teaches interpretation, environmental education, sustainability, and social science research methods. His research explores human behavior in environmental communication, interpretation, education, protected areas, and natural resource planning. He has published widely and serves as co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Interpretation Research, alongside Bob Powell.
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters  #HEARTApproach #MatherTrainingCenter #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation #Clemson #ClemsonPRTM #ClemsonResearch #SustainableTourism #ConservationAtClemson #InterpretiveLeadership #VirginiaTech #VTCNRE #VirginiaTechResearch

Celeste Bernardo, Retired NPS Superintendent, Talks Story with Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Celeste Bernardo, who devoted 35 years to the National Park Service (NPS), building bridges between people, places, and heritage. With a career spanning coastlines, historic neighborhoods, and international cultural exchanges, Celeste is known for her gift of turning partnerships into lasting legacies.
As acting Deputy Regional Director for the North Atlantic-Appalachian region, she supported more than forty national park units—from wilderness preserves and coastal habitats to historic sites and battlefields. Before that, she spent sixteen years as superintendent of partnership parks, where she championed community-driven projects: restoring historic structures, constructing trails, opening visitor centers, upgrading transportation systems, and hosting large-scale cultural events. Her leadership at Lowell National Historical Park, Boston National Historical Park, the Boston African American National Historic Site, and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park demonstrates her ability to connect diverse communities to their shared stories.
Celeste also served in the Washington Office as the first NPS Partnership Training Specialist, designing curriculum to strengthen leadership’s ability to collaborate across agencies, nonprofits, and communities. Earlier in her career, she honed her interpretive and visitor services skills at national seashores, historical parks, and recreation areas across the country.
Since retiring in 2021, Celeste has continued her mission globally—volunteering in Thailand to enhance interpretive services and leading volunteer management training for park leaders from 38 national parks.
From Massachusetts mills to Thai rainforests, Celeste’s story is about the power of collaboration, heritage, and the enduring human connection to place.
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters  #HEARTApproach #MatherTrainingCenter #NPSInterpretation #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation #nps #nationalpark #nationalparks #nationalparkservice

Toby Merriman, MFA, of SIU Center for Virtual Expression, Talks Story about AI with Tim Merriman

Toby Merriman, MFA, works each day as Assistant Director of Center for Virtual Expression at Southern Illinois University in assisting faculty in understanding how AI, VR and Gamification may improve their teaching and research. Toby grew up with Tim Merriman, his father, at a nature center and actually worked as an interpretive guide at a Dinosaurs Alive Exhibit when he was 15. He helps Tim and other interpreters understand how they can use these new tech platforms to improve their interpretive planning and execution in many different ways. Join them on Reflections on Interpretation for 39 minutes of talking story about their collaboration in these new tech areas. 
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters  #HEARTApproach #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation

Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman Talk Story about ABMC and Training

Today on Reflections I am talking story with my podcast co-host, Bill Gwaltney, who recently returned from a trip to western Europe to visit friends from his long career with National Park Service and especially with friends he made during his final five years with American Battle Monuments Commission. Born and raised in the Nation’s Capital, Bill Gwaltney is a seventh generation native of Washington, D.C. His pursuit of a degree in Forestry/Botany led him to change majors focusing on Western American History and Parks and Recreation Management.
Gwaltney had many roles in his thirty-five-year career with the National Park Service from Seasonal Interpreter to Museum Curator and from Regional Interpretive Specialist to Chief Ranger, Site Manager and Park Superintendent.
He also served as President of The Association of African American Museums. In addition, Gwaltney served as Chief Naturalist at Rocky Mountain National Park and as Assistant Regional Director for Workforce Diversity at the Intermountain Region in Denver, Colorado.
Gwaltney’s last two years in the National Park Service found him on loan to the National Museum of African American History and Culture for the Smithsonian Institution, where he designed and developed the exhibit on Military History.
The last five years of his career took him to Paris, France, where he worked for The American Battle Monuments Commission, as the Director of Interpretation and Visitor Services, assisting with the planning, Interpreter training, and Visitor Center development for the 26 American overseas military cemeteries under the Agency’s responsibilities.
Still teaching classes to park and museum employees and volunteers, Gwaltney is a trained Instructor of the H.E.A.R.T approach to Interpretation.
#timmerriman  #InterpretationMatters  #HEARTApproach #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation #NPS #ABMC