Preserving Latino Heritage through
U.S. National Parks
By Gloria Romano-Barrera
There is nothing more beautiful than a luscious surrounding or the freshness of earthly morning mist. National parks not only have stunning
landscapes or unique forests, but they are also powerful places to honor and celebrate Latino history all year round.
Within the National Park System, 24 parks have a primary story about Latino history and culture. At the same time, Latino history and culture can
be found at hundreds of parks across the country.
With a mission to preserve, amplify, and elevate more stories that commemorate Hispanic heritage in parks and communities across the country,
the National Park Foundation celebrates a decade of its Latino Heritage Fund program. The fund’s mission is to preserve Latino history and elevate
Latinos’ stories and contributions to the U.S., past and present, through national parks.
National Park Foundation Board Director Patty Arvielo, Melinda “Mindy” Burbano Stearns, and NPF chief of staff Ruth Prescott collaborate with
the National Park Foundation to protect wildlife and park lands and preserve history and culture, educate and engage youth, and connect people
everywhere to the wonder of parks.
Patty Arvielo
National Park Foundation Board Director
“For 35 years, I have advocated to advance diversity
and inclusion within business, particularly for women
and for Hispanic communities,” shares NPF Board
Director Patty Arvielo. “My experience enables me
to help support the National Park Foundation
and national parks in general to advance diversity
and inclusion and help preserve and share a
fuller historical narrative that includes women’s
contributions and our Latino heritage.”
Today, Arvielo raises awareness about the
National Park Foundation’s Latino Heritage Fund and
inspires more people to support this important work.
She hopes to help ensure that the next generation
learns about the contributions of early Latinos and
immigrants to the nation through the wealth of
knowledge and history national parks have to offer.
“As a Californian, César E. Chávez National
Patty and Mindy at Yosemite National Park.
Photo credit: Tami Heilman.
Monument in Keene, California, is a national park I
want more people to know about,” she shares. “The park is located at the site
of Chávez’ home and former headquarters for the National Farm Workers
Association (NFWA), which Chávez co-founded with Dolores Huerta. This newest
Latino heritage site commemorates the role Latinos have played in shaping the
modern labor rights movement for all Americans, and farmworkers in particular.”
Arvielo has been a leader in the mortgage industry for more than 40 years.
She is a results-driven entrepreneur who co-founded and leads the nation’s
largest woman-owned and Latina-owned mortgage company in the U.S., New
American Funding. In addition to serving on the National Park Foundation Board
of Directors, she is serving a three-year term on the Harvard Kennedy School
Board and serves on the Board of Directors for Century Communities. She is
also a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association
Residential Board of Governors, the Latino Donor
Collaborative Board, Board of Directors of Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, and the
Mortgage Bankers Association Affordable
Homeownership Advisory Council. She also serves
as a member of the Housing Counseling Federal
Advisory Committee. Arvielo recently expanded her
business empire by acquiring a 50 percent majority
stake in #WeAllGrow Latina, one of the largest Latina
social media platforms, and investing in Encantos,
an award-winning educational technology company
that focuses on bilingual education.
Melinda “Mindy” Burbano Stearns
National Park Foundation Board Director
“As a television anchor and former reporter, I love
sharing stories and national parks are full of
fantastic and compelling stories,” shares Emmy
nominated television anchor Melinda Burbano
Stearns. “My background in journalism paired with my experience co-founding
Stearns Family Charitable Foundation with my husband enables me to help
support and engage more people with the National Park Foundation’s mission.”
In the past decade, Burbano Stearns has shifted trajectory from the
television and film industry, focusing her efforts and influence on improving her
local and global communities.
The Stearns have been honored for their dedication to community service
and philanthropy with Starkey Hearing Foundation's "American Couple of the
Year Award," Orange County's "Giving Is Living Award,” and the 2014 Athlete's
First - Orangewood Children's Foundation's "Golden Heart Award" for leadership
and impact on youth.
24 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 27, No. 5, 2021
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