PEOPLE

Jon Kohl - PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jon, American and Costa Rican, founded the PUP Global Heritage Consortium in 2013 after having developed the PUP Process and PUP Manual starting in Honduras in 1998 under RARE Center for Tropical Conservation. He has a keen interest in identifying new theories and approaches and turning them into practice. Based in Costa Rica, Jon has worked with PUP around the world, always focusing on the visitor management side, especially his passion for heritage interpretation, but with an eye to learning beyond just visitor management to all kinds of planning. Ultimately he sees a spiritual connection to the value of heritage and management that he shares in his blog on heritage interpretation, his writing, and his work. For more information about his publications visit his ResearchGate profile. Jon earned his Master's in Environmental Management from Yale University School of the Environment and his Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Ecology from Dartmouth College. He also served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica where he now lives.

 VICE PRESIDENT

Zach garcia - SECRETARY

Zach, American, lives in Evansville, Indiana. As an undergraduate student, he studied Geography, French, and Japanese at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Zach worked as an environmental educator at Madison Children’s Museum, and then he joined the Peace Corps and served as a Food Security/Environmental Specialist in Nepal. He recently graduated from the Yale School of the Environment 2019, where he focused on environmental humanities and sacred spaces. He is currently the Associate Executive Director at Wesselman Woods, the largest urban old-growth forest in the United States. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, cooking, and netflixing.

CLARK HANCOCK - TREASURER

Clark, American, is an Interpretive Consultant and Trainer working out of Austin, Texas. He retired from the City of Austin in 2015 after serving for 25 years as the Austin Nature & Science Center’s Exhibit Coordinator. His professional focus is on community networking, open space management, resource protection, and heritage interpretation. His work has included the creation of natural and cultural exhibits, oral history and archive project management, community engagement and institution development, interpretive planning and training, and event planning. He holds degrees in Public Affairs from the University of Texas’ LBJ School and Theatre from Tulane University. His career has been diverse but with the common thread of creating opportunities for individuals to find for themselves new or enhanced connections with the wonders of creation and encouraging them to pass on to future generations this strong foundation from which to navigate the vagaries of life.