Title: Fort Monroe Chesapeake Gateways Ambassador

Location: Based out of Fort Monroe National Monument (Hampton, VA)

Dates of Service: November 30th, 2026 – November 12th, 2027 (50-week term commitment)

Pay: $760/week ($600/week stipend + $160/additional benefit)

Status: This is a full-time, temporary, AmeriCorps National Service position.

Questions? Contact ACCIPrecruiting@conservationlegacy.org 

Please submit a resume and cover letter via our website, www.appalachiancc.org/individualplacements. Applications will be accepted until October 11th.

Appalachian Conservation Corps: 

Our Individual Placement program works to connect young people to conservation service across Appalachia and neighboring communities in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, DC, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. ACC is a program of Conservation Legacy, a nationwide network of conservation organizations.  

When joining this AmeriCorps program, participants commit to a term of service at their placement site and in return gain hands-on experience and a variety of benefits to help them succeed in achieving their career goals. ACC welcomes national applicants but also emphasizes the engagement of local individuals who represent the communities in which they serve.  

National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways:

Chesapeake Bay Gateways is a congressionally authorized partnership park established in 1998 that connects more than 300 parks, refuges, museums, historic sites, trails, water-access points, and communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The National Park Service provides partners with expertise, funding, training, and technical assistance to strengthen visitor experiences and connect people with the Chesapeake’s natural resources, cultural heritage, recreational opportunities, and communities.

The Appalachian Conservation Corps and National Park Service are seeking three Chesapeake Gateways Ambassadors to serve at national parks within the watershed. Each Ambassador will work with an on-site NPS supervisor as part of their host park’s interpretive and visitor-services team while also participating in a regional cohort. Together, Ambassadors will share ideas, participate in training, learn from one another, and help strengthen connections among national parks, Network partners, gateway communities, and visitors.

Host Park and Local Placement

Fort Monroe National Monument (FOMR) is located in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, where the James River meets the Chesapeake Bay. Long before the construction of the present-day Fort Monroe, this landscape and its surrounding waters were important to Indigenous peoples of the Chesapeake region. Its location at the entrance to the James River also made Point Comfort strategically significant to early English colonists, who established Fort Algernourne here in 1609 and later Fort George in the 18th century. Fort Monroe, constructed beginning in 1819, continued the site's centuries-long role in the defense of the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads.

Today, Fort Monroe preserves and interprets a nationally significant cultural landscape with stories spanning Indigenous history, early European colonization, the arrival of the first recorded Africans in English North America at Point Comfort in 1619, coastal defense and military history, slavery and freedom, the Civil War-era “Contraband Decision” and its implications for emancipation, and the site's continuing connections to the people, communities, and environment of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Ambassador will be integrated into Fort Monroe’s interpretation and visitor services program under the supervision of the Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Services Program Manager. Working alongside NPS staff and partners, the Ambassador will provide visitor services, develop and deliver interpretive programming, and help connect Fort Monroe’s resources and stories to the broader Chesapeake Bay watershed and Chesapeake Gateways Network. The placement will also provide opportunities for interdisciplinary work involving cultural and natural resource stewardship, community engagement, partnerships, special events, and coastal resilience.

Fort Monroe is located within the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, with access to the surrounding communities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and other destinations throughout southeastern Virginia. Because of the location of the park and the transportation needs associated with the position, the Ambassador will need reliable personal transportation.

The Ambassador will support the host park through a combination of public contact, program development, research, digital content, special events, community outreach, and other interpretive or visitor-service activities. 

Housing is not provided. Some overnight/weekend travel may be expected.

Park-Specific Responsibilities

• Staff visitor-contact locations and provide visitor services to orient visitors to Fort Monroe and surrounding Chesapeake resources.
• Assist with interpretive programs, educational programs, special events, and public programs.
• Develop and deliver formal and informal interpretation of Fort Monroe’s cultural and natural resources for visitors of different ages, backgrounds, interests, and abilities.
• Research and develop new interpretive programs, digital content, and visitor-facing materials on Chesapeake-related themes, resources and stories.
• Promote exploration of related Chesapeake sites throughout the region.
• Contribute to projects involving:
• • Coastal resilience
  • Maritime history
  • Natural resources
  • Chesapeake landscape and its communities
  • Stories of people who lived, worked, traveled, and sought freedom at Point Comfort
• Support major commemorative events, including African Landing, Juneteenth, and America 250 activities.
• Take ownership of a substantive project that provides a lasting benefit to Fort Monroe, its visitors, and the broader Chesapeake Gateways Network.

Shared Responsibilities

Responsibilities will vary by host park but may include:

• Researching and interpreting connections among the host park, surrounding communities, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
• Creating digital media, trip-planning information, interpretive materials, or other public-facing products to share with the broader cohort.
• Supporting engagement with young people, schools, community organizations, and audiences that may face barriers to outdoor recreation or heritage experiences.
• Collaborating with the other Chesapeake Gateways Ambassadors on shared projects, presentations, and professional-development activities.
• Documenting activities, accomplishments, visitor contacts, lessons learned, and recommendations for future programming.
• Participating in other National Park Service activities and projects based on the Ambassador’s interests, development goals, and the needs of the host park.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Some college coursework or equivalent education, training, or experience in natural resources, environmental studies, history, public history, education, interpretation, recreation, or a related field.
• Experience working in public-facing, visitor-service, interpretive, educational, community, or customer-service roles.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and an interest in engaging with a variety of audiences.
• Interest in natural and cultural resources, history, public lands, the Chesapeake Bay watershed, or community-based storytelling.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team while also completing independent projects and assignments.
• Willingness to learn, take initiative, and engage with a variety of park programs, partners, visitors, and subject areas.
• Comfortable working both indoors and outdoors and participating in programs and special events in varying seasonal conditions.
• Reliable personal transportation for travel to and from the duty station and other local work locations as needed.

Minimum Requirements: 

To qualify, you must be between the ages of 18 and 26 (or 35 if a US Veteran), and a US citizen that has received a high school diploma or GED. All offers of employment are conditional upon completion of an acceptable check of the National Sex Offender Public Registry and federal criminal background check. Must be eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award. In addition, applicants must: 

• Possess a valid driver’s license
• Reliable transportation

Time Requirements:

• These positions are full-time, 40 hour/week.
• Typically, this position is expected to serve Monday to Friday, but exact service schedules may vary. A half hour lunch break will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service.
• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.
• Some overnight/weekend travel for special events.

Benefits: 

• $760 week stipend paid bi-weekly ($600 living stipend + $160 additional member benefit)
• Option to enroll in free health/vision/dental insurance
• $7,395 AmeriCorps Segal Education Award upon successful completion of 1700 hour minimum service term (award amount varies based on length of commitment and can be used for paying off federal student loans or paying tuition for a Title IV accredited college)  
• $1,750 professional development fund for certifications, trainings, conferences, and travel reimbursements
• Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Certificate upon successful completion – non-competitive hiring status for two years when applying for federal positions.
• Possible federal student loan forbearance and interest payoff
• Member Assistance Program – 3 free sessions of support with a counseling or work-life balance specialist 
• Depending upon the academic institution and program, positions may fulfill internship requirements 
• Professional development opportunities (mentorship, resume support, alumni listserv, etc.) and exposure to natural resource career paths 

Evaluation and Reporting:

As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to: bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.

Our Commitment:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full consideration of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Physical requirements may include periodic overnight travel, non-traditional work hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. The ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.   

Our Promise:  

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.