I am on a mission to get parks to start podcasting. Podcasting is a way parks can serve visitors in a new and unique way. To explore the idea of podcasting in parks, I went straight to one of the best podcasters around.

Jeff Brown is the host of the Read to Lead podcast. Read to Lead is recognized as one of the best-produced podcasts. Not only does Jeff Brown have the best voice in podcasting, he is a true professional. Jeff spent 26 years in the radio business and now brings his experience for training radio talent to helping people develop quality podcasts.

In this episode, Jeff coaches us through having a professional on-air presence and how to create a quality show. Jeff also discusses how parks can use podcasts to serve park visitors.

Podcasting holds so much potential for parks to connect to visitors in a manner not available in any other way. Consider what this could mean for your park. You can provide interpretation to more people. You can build a loyal following of people waiting for new content by sharing stories, history, and park information. You can even set up guided tours along popular trails or roads.

You can put a park ranger in the pocket of every park visitor.

Podcasts, or audio content, can even be used to distribute information to all employees, no matter how spread out or far away they may be. Audio content can allow leaders to reach every person on the team, individually, with the same message.

If you want to talk about creating podcasts for your park, please get in touch.

Jeff Brown recommends the following books:

Linchpin by Seth Godin

Die Empty by Todd Henry

Multipliers by Liz Wiseman

You can find Jeff Brown on Twitter or Facebook or his home on the web, Read to Lead.

Amanda Llanes returns to the Park Leaders Show to talk about her first season as a seasonal law enforcement ranger with the National Park Service. At the time of her first interview, Amanda was a cadet in the law enforcement academy. Now, she has been a seasonal ranger for one year.

Amanda talks about her experience, what she looks forward to in her next seasonal assignment and her career ambitions. This interview with Amanda is the second part of a look at seasonal park rangers with the National Park Service. You can listen to the first episode here.

If you enjoy the Park Leaders Show, would you consider leaving a review on iTunes? You can find the show here.

On the Park Leaders Show, I often talk to leaders in the National Park Service. Chief Interpreters, Chief Rangers and Park Superintendents have all been guests on the show.

The one thing they all have in common is they all started as seasonal park rangers.

That means the future leaders of the National Park Service are seasonal rangers right now.

Kaitlyn Kunce, Seasonal Park Ranger with the National Park Service

In this episode of the Park Leaders Show, I talk with Kaitlyn Kunce, and we take a look at the life of a seasonal park ranger.

At the time of our interview, Kaitlyn is a seasonal park ranger at Mesa Verde National Park. Soon, she will be moving to a seasonal assignment at Yellowstone National Park. Moving often and applying for jobs every few months is one of the challenges seasonal park rangers.

The goal of most seasonal park rangers is to get a permanent position with the National Park Service. Competition for permanent positions can be tough, and seasonal rangers look for ways to learn new skills and build their resume.

Kaitlyn writes about her experience as a ranger on her blog, Twitter and Facebook.

The music for the Park Leaders Show is the creation of Jason Harrod. You can find out more about him here.

If you have listened to the Park Leaders Show for a while, you know Jack Hartt was a mentor of mine while I was a park ranger. It was my conversations with Jack early in my career which led me to believe that you would enjoy hearing similar conversations with leaders from all over the country.

Talking with people from parks is important, but if we are really going to change the landscape of leadership in parks and recreation, we need to step outside of parks too. In this episode, we reach outside the world of parks again and talk with Ray Edwards. Not only is Ray a successful entrepreneur, but he is also a strong supporter of parks.

Just like Jack Hartt taught me so much about the business of parks, Ray Edwards has taught me about the business of business. I am so much better at what I do because of Ray Edwards.

Ray explains what park systems, individual parks, or park employees can do to foster an entrepreneurial spirit.

Ray is the host of The Ray Edwards Show and author of Writing Riches.

Ray recommends Work the System by Sam Carpenter to learn more about implementing systems.