Spark

Catch Tom Medema on January 29, 2026, where he will give a January Series talk titled “America at 250: How our National Parks Inspire a More Perfect Union.”

For decades, Tom Medema ’87 has helped shape the story of America’s national parks. Former associate director for interpretation and education for the National Park Service Tom Medema ’87 sees all 433 parks and monuments as a living reflection of America’s identity—these places belong to every citizen, stitching together landscapes and stories that define the nation. “Each park is a thread in the fabric of our country,” Medema says.

But sharing that story is complex, he adds. It means not only acknowledging grandeur and heroism, but also trauma and injustice. Sites like Stonewall, Manzanar, and the Trail of Tears are part of the Park Service because they, too, represent chapters of shared history, even if those chapters are painful.

At 18, Medema didn’t set out to work in environmental education. But small moments nudged him toward a broader path, such as an Outward Bound presentation in Glen VanAndel’s recreation course that introduced him to that field for the first time.

During his master’s program in environmental interpretation at Michigan State, Medema came across a flyer for a $7-a-day internship at Rocky Mountain National Park. With family support, he spent a summer leading Junior Ranger programs—and was hooked. He also met and became engaged to his wife, Cindy, a fellow outdoor educator.

Medema landed his first job in Washington state, where he donned period clothing and baked bread for visitors at Fort Vancouver. Supervisory roles at Mount Rainier and Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio followed. Then he landed a dream job in Yosemite, where he served as chief naturalist for 15 years. In 2016, Medema was recruited to Washington, D.C., and served eight years as associate director of the national parks. From an office two blocks from the White House, Medema helped shape national policy for the park system, overseeing everything from interpretation and education standards to volunteer training. He informally dubbed himself the “chief storytelling officer,” as a way of explaining his role curating the vast array of programs, exhibits, and resources that tell the story of America through its national parks.

Medema is also one of the founding members of a nonprofit organization called Rally for Rangers that delivers motorcycles and equipment to remote parts of the world so rangers can more effectively patrol and preserve protected lands in some of the world’s most ecologically significant places.

He describes his involvement as deeply personal and transformative. “It’s not just about the bikes,” he says. “It’s about the people, the stories, and the landscapes they protect.” He’s led rides in Mongolia, Argentina, Peru, Nepal, and tribal regions of the United States.

Though Medema retired from a 35-year career last December, he’s still actively involved in America 250, the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration. He’s currently leading the development of a national time capsule, helping to curate a public exhibit at the White House Visitor Center, and coordinating interactive projects like America’s Field Trip, a student competition. As he puts it, this “retirement gig” is exactly what he would hope for: meaningful, flexible, and deeply connected to the work he loves.