Virginia Department of Conservation and RecreationAn official website of the Commonwealth of Virginia Here's how you knowAn official websiteHere's how you know
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Youth Conservation Corps Manager Renesha Chiles.Renesha Chiles knows a good opportunity when she sees it.
Originally from Amherst, Virginia, the state parks Youth Conservation Corps program manager moved to Richmond to attend Virginia Union University. While majoring in chemistry, she took advantage of many internships.
She interned with the National Aquarium in Baltimore’s conservation and restoration team. “In my three months there, I learned the importance of conserving our natural resources.”
An internship in August 2016 brought her to the Department of Conservation and Recreation as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Chesapeake Conservation Corps.
“That year, I served as the community engagement coordinator promoting Virginia State Parks and increasing public awareness of issues impacting the Chesapeake Bay,” she said. She helped equip young people and volunteers with skills needed to become active environmental leaders. In one project, she worked with more than 200 volunteers. “Being a Chesapeake Conservation Corps volunteer gave me the chance to promote conservation and watershed stewardship ethics in numerous communities.”
Her work as a youth counselor to elementary and middle school students helped her discover her passion for working with young people.
“It was a fun environment, working with kids after school and in their summer program,” she said. “It was impactful to work with kids and to learn their mannerisms, it really helped me learn to work with people; to read people and to anticipate their needs.”
Chiles also participated in the National Parks Services Rivers and Trails Fellowship.
The year-long fellowship focused on protecting and improving the James River. She also worked on creating user-friendly maps and youth leader development and engagement. “It was an awesome experience to learn the processes of the National Park Service and the local government processes,” she said. In one project, she worked with a dozen partners advocating to create a bus stop near the river. “I was able to increase community engagement and the number of partners I worked with – more than 20 nonprofits and local and national agencies.”
Today, Chiles is Youth Conservation Corps program manager on the state parks community and engagement and volunteerism staff.
“I’m working to grow the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) by developing a strong connection between communities and Virginia State Parks Youth Corps,” she said. “We’re creating youth advocates for Virginia State Parks and creating a sustainable youth program that helps participants become committed to serving Virginia State Parks for many years to come.”
