KATE KUYKENDALL
“I love blowing up people´s stereotypes about Los Angeles,” says Kate Kuykendall, the public information officer for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a National Park Service site that lies within L.A.´s boundary. “Yes, we have traffic and smog and lots of freeways. But we´re also surrounded by mountains and thousands of miles of trails. And there´s at least one mountain lion living within the city limits-how´s that for the ultimate display of nature in the midst of the second-largest metropolitan area in the country?” Kuykendall worked in outreach and communications for Peace Corps recruitment for a decade before joining the park service in 2012. Born and raised in Southern California, Kuykendall´s enthusiasm for the urban park is infectious. She´s elevated the park´s profile among new audiences by encouraging people to connect with and celebrate our national parks and public lands-a big goal of the National Park Service as it celebrates its centennial next year with the #FindYourPark campaign. The Santa Monica Mountains NRA is just one of over 400 national parks and is participating in the campaign by showing that our parks and historical sites offer something for everyone, including the LGBT community. “Being a part of the #FindYourPark campaign gives us the chance to re-introduce the National Park Service to all Americans, and encourage them to get out there and find their parks!” Kuykendall says. -KL
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