Gretel’s commitment to public service began long before her 25 years with the National Park Service. She grew up in rural New York in a family that valued hard work, honesty, and community. Her parents were first-generation college graduates who had been raised on modest farms, and they carried those lessons of self-reliance, neighborliness, and respect for the land into their own household. Gretel spent her childhood surrounded by forests, horses,
wood-cutting weekends, and the rhythm of rural life. She learned responsibility by helping with chores, caring for animals, and watching her family make the land productive. Those experiences built her love for the outdoors, her belief in people, and her understanding of how deeply communities rely on their environment.
That foundation led her into a lifetime of service. Gretel joined the National Park Service in 2000 and spent the next two and a half decades working in parks across Utah, Alaska, Death Valley, and eventually at Manzanar National Historic Site. She protected landscapes, water, wildlife, and the stories that define our shared history. She did this work through years when the Trump administration weakened environmental protections, sidelined science, and demeaned public servants who kept parks and essential services running.
At Manzanar, Gretel worked closely with Japanese American families whose loved ones had been incarcerated there during World War II. Survivors trusted her with their memories, and she helped ensure the site remained a place of truth at a time when some politicians want to erase or sanitize the hardest parts of American history. Manzanar reinforced her belief that honest storytelling can heal communities, but only when leaders have the courage to protect it.
In a later role with a regional NPS office, Gretel supported parks across the West as they faced climate stress, aging facilities, and years of federal underfunding. She saw firsthand how communities suffer when elected officials weaken public services and neglect the places people depend on. She also saw how much progress is possible when leaders choose integrity, science, and compassion.
When Gretel made her home in Marfa, she discovered the Blackwell School, a former segregated school for Mexican American children. What began as curiosity became a deep commitment. She supported community advocates working to preserve Blackwell’s history and helped elevate those stories from local memory to national recognition. The experience reaffirmed her conviction that every community deserves to have its past honored with dignity and honesty.
In early 2025, after 25 years of government service, Gretel accepted an early retirement through DOGE. While the current administration cut the core functions of our public services and undermined the people who keep them running, her deeper motivation came from witnessing years of weakened public services and the erosion of trust in government. She knew she was ready to serve her community in a new way.
Gretel is running because she understands what is at stake. She has seen the consequences when the government stops working for the people it serves.
She knows the damage caused when leaders ignore public lands, public institutions, and the needs of working families. And she knows how powerful the government can be when guided by courage, service, and love for people.