Staff Spotlight: Brian Aviles

Profile Photo of Brian Aviles

NPS Photo/Brian Aviles

Meet Brian Aviles, the Chief of Planning and Environmental Programs!

What was your pathway to the NPS?

I came to the National Park Service (NPS) in 1999 while on a leave of absence from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California where I was a tenured professor of Landscape Architecture. I was looking for an opportunity to resume my professional career. The Boston Support Office in the Northeast Region was looking for someone to lead a Special Resource Study of Walden Woods. That’s the area made famous by philosopher and writer Henry David Thoreau. There was a great deal of excitement about creating a national park site around Walden Pond. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time! I was to serve as a visiting scholar. The day before I reported for duty, my supervisor told me to pack for a 2-day trip to New York. I was needed on a project at Springwood, the home of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in Hyde Park. During those first few days, I met many highly educated experts working to preserve these and other remarkable sites across New England. Over a short period of time, I found the work so rewarding that I resigned my appointment at California Polytechnic State University. I have always thought that the NPS has enough talent to run a large university!

Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Planning Division visiting a park site. Brian is kneeling next to the goat.

NPS/Brian Aviles

What do you do for the NPS?

Part of the GGNRA Planning Division visiting a park site. Brian is kneeling next to the goat.For 24 years, I have been a landscape architect and community planner for the NPS. While working out of the Boston office, I led studies for parks requesting assistance on a variety of projects, from landscape design studies for a new unit at Acadia National Park (Schoodic), to National Historic Trails Feasibility Studies (WARO), and general management plans (MOOR and GOIS). I even participated on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s international technical assistance projects for parks in Guatemala. I joined Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GOGA) in 2006 to help create their new general management plan. This led to other assignments here and my first permanent position. Seventeen years later, I lead the park’s Planning & Environmental Programs Division – about fifteen people who are charting the future of GOGA’s 80,000 acres while we protect its resources and welcome upwards of 20 million annual visitors.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

I enjoy being able to dedicate myself to this specific park – helping to establish the long-term vision for it, assisting numerous projects that will be designed and built, and studying how these perform over time so the park can better achieve its mission. This park is also super diverse in terms of the environment and people. It includes historic sites like Alcatraz Island, which is a National Historic Landmark. These are places of great natural beauty along the Pacific coast and bay, and sites with extraordinary ecological significance like Muir Woods National Monument. Put this together with one of the largest and most diverse cities in the United States - and some of the finest people in the NPS - what’s not to like? It’s extremely rewarding to see how well we serve local and international visitors. The park enriches so many lives every day.

What does it mean to you to represent your community?

All four of my grandparents left Puerto Rico for the United States between 1916 and 1925. It was a hard road for them. They worked menial jobs, lived in crowded Harlem tenements, and raised families during the Great Depression. My parents say they “escaped” poverty by going to a teacher’s college where they met as the two token Puerto Ricans on campus. I was raised during a period of national assimilation. Still, my parents made sure I knew where we came from. I can cook Arroz con Gandules (rice with pigeon peas), know the geography of Puerto Rico, can dance Salsa (although my wife says, poorly), and confidently speak Spanish. Recently, I volunteered with NPS - Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program (RTCA) for a hurricane-recovery project in Ciales, Puerto Rico. It was thrilling to bring my experience to a community-directed recreation and conservation project in a special part of the island! I may not be the most outspoken Borincano, but I cherish my heritage and do what I can to be a credit to my heritage. I have so much to be thankful for.

Brian Aviles, left, finishing a 100-mile ride

NPS Photo/Brian Aviles

What advice do you have for youth and young adults thinking about a career at NPS?

In my case, I found a “side door” into the NPS. I didn’t even know how to start that process. For those interested in an NPS career, just know that there are so many ways to serve. I suggest looking at your own background for things you can bring. Maybe that’s a special experience, perspective, or skill. The NPS prides itself on teamwork and we are so much better for the differences we all bring to a common purpose. Also consider that careers are longer than you may think. If the fit isn’t right today, maybe it will be at a future date.

What are your hobbies?

I have always loved gardening, maybe because my family comes from a long line of farmers – jibaros, as we are called in Puerto Rico. I’m getting good at growing cucumbers. The Spanish name is “pepino,” which coincidentally, is the nickname of the town my grandparents came from – San Sebastian. Like many others I like to travel, ride a bike, and hang out with my family that was recently expanded by a granddaughter!