Articles of Mamie Parker
21st century conservation: A vision of collaboration across landscapes
Just one week after taking office, the Biden administration proposed an ambitious conservation agenda to stem the loss of biodiversity, enhance environmental equity and justice and curb the drivers of climate change. The agenda envisions engaging state, tribal, local and territorial officials, farmers and forest landowners, fishermen and others to conserve 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.
Dr. Mamie Parker elected to DU Board of Directors
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – March 10, 2022 – Dr. Mamie Parker of Washington, D.C., was recently elected to Ducks Unlimited’s (DU) national board of directors.
“Ducks Unlimited’s leadership assures our organization conserves, restores, and manages wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl,” said DU Chairman Rogers Hoyt Jr. “Our board members volunteer their time and resources because they are passionate about conservation. I welcome each new board member and look forward to working with them for years to come.”
Student Conservation Association Names Dr. Mamie Parker as Vice Chair of Board
Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Official in Line for Chairwoman In 2021
(ARLINGTON, VA) July 27, 2020 —- The Student Conservation Association (SCA), a national leader in youth service and stewardship, today announced its board of directors has unanimously elected Dr. Mamie Parker as vice chairwoman of the board. The vote positions Dr. Parker to ascend to the chairwomanship in 2021.
Safe Spaces Initiative
The COVID-19 pandemic underlined the benefit of nearby green spaces, where children and families can safely breathe fresh air and freely engage with nature and wildlife. But a lack of public parks and healthy tree canopy in low-wealth and communities of color prevent many families from enjoying time outside. And it’s not just accessibility to local green space—or even the nation’s majestic national parks—that serves as a barrier to getting outside.
Black Conservationists, Pioneers Discuss Outdoor Representation, Safety, Access for Black Communities, Communities of Color
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Wildlife Federation hosted the National Town Hall on Creating Safe Spaces, convening over a dozen Black conservationists and environmental pioneers to discuss the policy, practices, and programs needed to strengthen access, representation, and safety for Black families and communities in the outdoors. Launched in December 2020, the Creating Safe Spaces initiative sheds light on the challenges that Black people face in safely accessing and enjoying the outdoors in partnership with Outdoor Afro, Black AF in STEM, Patagonia, and The Links, Incorporated.
21st Century Conservation: A Vision of Collaboration Across Landscape
Just one week after taking office, the Biden administration proposed an ambitious conservation agenda to stem the loss of biodiversity, enhance environmental equity and justice and curb the drivers of climate change. The agenda envisions engaging state, tribal, local and territorial officials, farmers and forest landowners, fishermen and others to conserve 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.
Dr. Mamie Parker Leads the Way for Women in Conservation
Dr. Mamie Parker credits women for her rise through the ranks of male-dominated wildlife agencies—starting with her mother. Growing up as one of 11 children in the segregated south, Parker discovered the outdoors through her mother’s love of fishing and gardening. She also inspired Parker’s commitment to justice throughout her groundbreaking career as a fisheries biologist.
Conservation and Race: A Conversation with Dr. Mamie Parker
The first African-American woman to be the head of Fisheries and a regional office at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dr. Mamie Parker retired from a successful federal career and now works as a coach to nonprofit and government leaders. She serves on the boards of several conservation organizations—including that of The Nature Conservancy of Virginia. Nature Conservancy magazine spoke with her in June 2020 about the intertwined issues of conservation, environmental justice, and forging partnerships with communities of color.
Dr. Mamie Parker, UAPB Alumna, Reflects on 30-Year Career as Pioneer in Conservation
When she was appointed northeast regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Dr. Mamie Parker, a 1980 alumna of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), had an unexpected moment to reflect on her career and life accomplishments up to that point. Standing before a wall of black-and-white framed photographs of former regional directors, the staff informed Dr. Parker that they specifically wanted to take her portrait in color.
“He told me that the FWS had finally selected the first African American in that position in the agency’s 135-year history,” Dr. Parker said. “At that moment, I got very emotional and thought about the accomplishment and what it took to get there. I also thought about the challenging implications as a leader. It’s OK to be the first at something – but that gives you the responsibility not to be the last.”
Now retired from the FWS, Dr. Parker was recently elected chairman of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Commission. She is also the first African American to serve in this position in the history of the agency.
Mamie Parker, a former assistant director of fisheries and habitat conservation at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was the first African-American to head a regional office for that agency. But when she started out in the field, she says, she “did not see anyone that looked like me doing this type of work.”
When she was in ninth grade, Parker says, “I heard the song by Marvin Gaye, ‘Mercy, mercy me. Things are not like they used to be.’ He talked about the pollution in the air, and the wind that was blowing poison and radiation and all of that.” She decided she wanted to do something about it.
Maurice Jackson, Family and Community Fishing Program Coordinator with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, will deliver the S.A. Haley Memorial Lecture at the 63rd Annual Rural Life Conference, Friday, Feb. 1, at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. Dr. Mamie Parker, president of Ma Parker and Associates and an executive coach and facilitator, will be the luncheon speaker.
Jackson was the first African-American fisheries biologist for the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. He was a hatchery supervisor and an aquatic education biologist. He worked to create Perry Lakes Barton Beach preserve which encompasses 700 acres and provides access to one of the most diverse river systems for aquatic life in North America, the Cahaba River.