Kat Shiffler (she/her/hers) is a Conservation Legacy Landscape Architect Fellow with the National Park Service RTCA Midwest Region. Kat recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a Masters of Landscape Architecture. Concurrently, she has worked with the U-M Botanical Gardens and Arboretum in a variety of roles for the past three years. Before graduate school, Shiffler served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua where she taught design thinking in high school classrooms and engaged in a diverse range of community-based projects. She also attended graduate school for Agroecology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and was a Fulbright Scholar in Chile where she assisted a group of beekeepers and botanists organize La Ruta de la Miel, a tourist trail based on regional honey varieties.

Originally from Lincoln, Nebraska, Shiffler has also had the opportunity to work on community-based design in the Midwest with several great non-profits and the University of Nebraska. She is an avid cyclist and has competed in Gravel Worlds three times, a race that takes place each August in Lincoln. Shiffler loves the Nebraska Sandhills and the shores of Lake Superior and is excited to explore new places in between.

Morgan Urquia is very excited to be a part of the RTCA-NPS community in Alaska as a Community Planning Fellow. She wants to offer technical support to community vision for recreation and land-conservation because she believes in the power of local decision-making to foster long-term stewardship. She has spent the past three years in New Hampshire at Antioch University New England studying community resilience, especially as it relates to grassroots climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Originally from Powhatan traditional lands in Richmond, Virginia, Morgan had her first memorable experiences with outdoor recreation along in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her dad and on the lakes of coastal Maine with her maternal grandparents. She carried her childhood wilderness experiences with her through a creative run in New York City as a student of experimental theater and later as an instructor of rock climbing, mountain bike packing, and land-use history for wilderness education programs in the Northeast (USA), Brazil, Chile, and Ecuador. Morgan arrived in Alaska during its annual peak sunlight hours , but now there is a blanket of snow on the ground and it’s a great time to dig into her Fellowship Projects. Most notably and continuously so far, she has been talking to folks across the RTCA network and in a handful of Alaskan agencies and organizations related to RTCA’s capacity to work with communities affected by climate change hazards. While the program work looks different under COVID-19 restrictions, the Alaska team has been talking to partners, planning outreach efforts, and continuing to build partnerships in Anchorage and surrounding areas.

Ryan Jackson is a recent Master of Planning graduate from the University of Wyoming with a concentration in environment and natural resources. Before adventuring out to Wyoming, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Anthropology with a minor in Environmental Sciences and Studio Art from Drew University (NJ). Throughout her time in college, Ryan became passionate about National Parks and hiking trails. She dedicated her research in environmental land use planning for hiking trails and gateway community resilience.

Ryan has worked the past three years in designing and planning a long-distance hiking trail for the state of Wyoming. Now Ryan is a Community Planner Fellow with the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program in Anchorage, Alaska. In her free time, Ryan likes playing basketball, going to trivia nights, and backpacking vast landscapes.

Sydney Curnes is a Conservation Legacy Landscape Architect Fellow with the National Park Service RTCA Midwest Region. Sydney has recently graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture. She is passionate about preserving natural ecosystems and improving the human-nature connection. Before joining NPS she worked at Iowa State University Community Design lab where she gained experience in park planning and emergency youth shelter design.

Originally from Central Iowa, Sydney has always been among the wild things. She is amazed by nature's immaculate beauty and astonishing ecosystem services. Since she was little, she has loved exploring new parks, learning about plant species, and watching nature documentaries.

Taylor Bowden (she/her/hers) is a recent graduate of the Master of Landscape Architecture program (and an undergraduate BS in Art) at the University of Oregon where she was named UO's 2021 Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmstead scholar. She was played an active role in her community as UO's American Society of Landscape Architects student body president, and a regular volunteer of her local parks. Driven by environmental justice issues, she dedicated her master's project to addressing racial inclusion in public natural areas by highlighting the voices of local BIPOC communities. Taylor wants to expand these efforts into her career and is excited to be working as a community planning fellow with the Pacific Northwest RTCA where she can continue pushing for equity in the outdoors. She understands that landscapes and culture are intertwined and seeks opportunities to combine her interest in art and the environment to amend people's connection with the landscape towards sustainable futures.

Taylor has lived in Southern California and Alabama but has spent the last decade in Oregon where she discovered a penchant for amateur botany, subsequently picking up backpacking, mushroom hunting, and birding. Indoors, she can be found practicing her other passions: painting and cooking.

Will Bell is a recent graduate of George Washington University where he studied English and Graphic Design. He is excited to join NPS - RTCA as a Communications Fellow. Will enjoys creating digital art and design and is eager to support RTCA’s visual identity.

Originally from Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, Will grew up enjoying the many trails, rivers, and lakes of the rural area. He now resides in Washington, DC in the H Street Corridor. Will is passionate about climate change and looks forward to contributing to RTCA’s conservation efforts. In his free time, he loves baking, running, and exploring DC.