National Capital Parks East hosts Dynamic Author and Public Speaker, Audrey Peterman, June 21 &22

National Capital Parks East hosts Dynamic Author and Public Speaker, Audrey Peterman, June 21 &22

By Audrey Peterman

             The staff at National Capital Parks-East is excited to offer three public events with Audrey Peterman on June 21-22, 2013. Ms. Peterman is coming to D.C. to share her work and words about linking African Americans to the wonders of America’s National Parks.

Using the natural, historical and cultural and treasures found within the 401 units of the National Park System as her inspiration, she has authored two “must read” books, Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care, and the recently-released travel guide, Our True Nature: Finding a Zest for Life in the National Park System!

Audrey Peterman is also President and Co-founder of Earthwise Productions, Inc., an environmental consulting and publishing firm focused on connecting the public lands system and the American public.

Since 1995, Earthwise has generated multiple stories in media ranging from the African American-focused National Newspaper Publishers Association and the Tom Joyner Morning Show to Audubon magazine and MSNBC’s Weekends with Alex Witt. From Wall Street to small rural neighborhoods, Audrey and her husband Frank are credited with making millions aware of the National Park System and its relevance to their lives. Additionally, she has been part of several White House initiatives including the launch of America’s Great Outdoors and the White House Conference on Conservation.

Please join us in welcoming Audrey at these events:

    June 21- “Our National Park System – The Glue that Holds America Together”, will be featured at the Anacostia Pavilion, in Anacostia Park. This will be a public forum that will include a presentation and a community based panel discussion with the audience. 3 to 4:30 p.m.

    June 22 – Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Book signing for Our True Nature: Finding a Zest for Life in the National Park System! 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

    June 22 -Frederick Douglass Home, Book signing for Our True Nature: Finding a Zest for Life in the National Park System! 1 to 3 p.m.

This series of events also coincides with a national initiative, African American National Parks Weekend, please check it out on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/pages/African-American-National-Parks-Event/355974594517522

For more information please contact Michelle Clark, (202) 426-7109, Michelle_Clark@nps.gov

·       More biographical information: Having crisscrossed the country visiting over 170 sites within our country’s National Park System, this national award winning environ-mentalist is a role model for the citizen involvement that she promotes.

She brings a unique understanding of what motivates people of color at the grassroots level to reconnect with the out-doors.

She has been instrumental in helping break down some of the systemic barriers which perpetuate current conditions of inequitable use and benefits, with Americans of color on the low end of the scale.

A graduate of the University of the West Indies and St. Thomas Aquinas College, Audrey is serving her fourth term on the board of the National Parks Conservation Association; a second term on the board of the Association of Partners for Public Lands, and a first term on the board of the National Parks Promotion Council. She is a founding member of grassroots groups connecting urban communities to the healthful Great Outdoors in Florida and Georgia.

An informative and engaging speaker, Mrs. Peterman and her husband convened the First Biannual Conference & Expo: Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great American Outdoors, 2009.  She is the recipient of the 2013 “Apex Distinguished Service” Award from Black Meetings and Tourism Magazine; the “Environmental Hero Award” from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2000; the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas Outstanding Citizen Conservationist Award” from the National Parks Conservation Association, 1997, and the “George Barley Leadership Award” from the 40-member Everglades Coalition, 1999.