Rhea S. Suh for Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks
(WASHINGTON, DC) October 31, 2013 – Statement by Student Conservation Association (SCA) President and CEO Dale Penny on nomination of Rhea S. Suh as Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks:
“SCA enthusiastically applauds President Obama’s nomination of Rhea Suh to become Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
“As Interior’s leading youth service partner for nearly 60 years, SCA knows the greatest risk facing our national parks and other public lands is their diminishing relevancy to America’s young people. Rhea, an SCA alumna herself, has advanced from park volunteer to powerful advocate, personifying the very concept of conservation leadership. And her approval will be a giant step toward the essential goal of reconnecting our youth to the great outdoors.
“Rhea’s support of SCA’s National Park Service Academy, a career and workforce development program, has benefited hundreds of under-represented students as well as our national parks. With her assistance, SCA employed hundreds of New York City area teens this year in the restoration of the National Parks of New York Harbor following Hurricane Sandy. And her leadership of Interior’s “Youth in the Great Outdoors” initiative has enabled thousands more to launch conservation careers, while her previous philanthropic experience uniquely qualifies her to forge meaningful public-private partnerships to expand service opportunities for young people.
“We must ensure that our natural and cultural treasures are protected in perpetuity and that young Americans from all backgrounds have ample and equal opportunity to understand, appreciate and contribute to the remarkable legacy of our national parks and wildlife refuges. I urge the Senate to swiftly and unreservedly confirm the nomination of Rhea Suh as Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.”
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