A word from Mississippi Park Connection's new Education Coordinator

David Kappelhoff, Education Coordinator, Mississippi Park Connection I’m excited to work with Mississippi Park Connection and its amazing and passionate staff. I started my position as Education Coordinator this December. My background in education includes 20 years of experience as a social studies teacher both in the Centennial school district area and overseas in Yangon, Myanmar. I’m also a master instructor of improv with the Brave New Workshop Theater in Minneapolis, working with adult and youth programs, sketch writing, and corporate development.

My work in education has been pretty diverse, working with youth and adult populations, and serving specialized populations in correctional settings, arts and science programs, and internationally. I recently furthered my education with the completion of my masters in strategic communication, and outside of my work and education experiences, I like to spend time outdoors biking, canoeing, hiking, playing hockey, traveling, and generally exploring the history and culture of unique landscapes.

My main focus with MPC involves working closely with the National Park Services Education Coordinator, Jim Ford, to develop a new teacher corps program that supports environmental education outcomes with local metro schools, and possibly beyond, in connection with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. The teacher corps will support, expand, and enhance long-established programs such as Big River Journey, Journey to the Falls, and Take Me to the River.

I am also excited to get the corps involved in new programs and partnerships as they become more established, one of which is a dream to involve more arts programming in association with science and cultural aspects of the Mississippi area. Overall, I aim to nurture strong stewards and citizens of the river, and with MPC, I am passionate about working with wonderful people to bring students great educational experiences in their backyard national park.