Heather Holm is the Chief of the Interpretation and Education Division of California State Parks and is the guest of Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney on Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters podcast. Heather has 22 years of experience in interpretation, having worked in various positions in California State Parks. Her work experience includes interpretive program development and facilitation, distance learning program development, project management, policy development, interpretive planning, intellectual property rights administration, and interpretive training development and facilitation. She has also worked in various non-profit museums and archives doing collection work, research, and record processing.

Heather is passionate about supporting front-line interpretive staff and volunteers in their work, and coaching and mentoring interpreters. She has a Master of Arts degree in Public History from California State University, Sacramento.

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Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney talk story with Daniel Martinez on Reflections on Interpretation. For historian Daniel Martinez, history isn’t just something to study—it’s something you feel. After 44 years with the National Park Service, most recently as historian at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Martinez reflects on a career dedicated to keeping the past vividly alive.

From his own family’s memories of December 7, 1941 to his years connecting with survivors, leaders, and visitors, Martinez has helped countless people see the human side of history—and feel its lasting presence.

He shares the stories, moments, and relationships that shaped his life’s work from his start at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument to Pearl Harbor and why the lessons of war, peace, and resilience still matter today.

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Gary Candelaria brings a lifetime of dedication to America’s public lands to this episode of Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters. Raised in Los Angeles and inspired early on to become a park ranger, he pursued that dream through a forestry degree at Oregon State University before entering the prestigious Intake Ranger program in 1975. His first assignment at Saratoga National Historical Park during the nation’s Bicentennial set the stage for a distinguished National Park Service career.

Candelaria went on to serve in key leadership roles across the country, Assistant Chief of Interpretation at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Chief Ranger at Sitka National Historical Park, and Superintendent at Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Pinnacles (then National Monument), and Wrangell–St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Along the way he earned a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and worked in Washington, D.C., as assistant to Director Roger Kennedy.

Before retiring in 2008, Candelaria capped his service as Assistant Director of Harpers Ferry Center and Associate Regional Director for Cultural Resources in Omaha. Now living in Sharpsburg, Maryland, he continues contributing to historical scholarship as a contractor for the U.S. Navy, updating the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Join Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman as Gary reflects on a remarkable career shaped by curiosity, stewardship, and a deep commitment to interpretation.

#timmerriman #InterpretationMatters #HEARTApproach #MatherTrainingCenter #NPSInterpretation #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation #nps #nationalpark #nationalparks #nationalparkservice