Get to Know Your Park Staff

One of the most engaging park rangers you’ll ever meet, Miles was born and raised in Fresno, California and moved to Washington State in 2006 just after graduating college. He was a theater arts major in college—no surprise when you consider Miles’ gift for telling an entertaining story and comfort in front of an audience. But he decided to pursue a more practical career and took classes in college in criminology before looking for park ranger openings.  Deciding to settle in Washington State, Miles was able to secure a job at Cape Disappointment. 

After about a year at Cape Disappointment State Park an opening came up at Sequim Bay, close to his wife’s family, so they moved there where the ranger job was more “generalist” with duties in every area, including maintenance.  Wishing to do more law enforcement on the job, he left State Parks to be a 911 dispatcher but quickly determined that with his dyslexia it was not an ideal job. After a series of other jobs to keep employment benefits going, Miles accepted a part-time job at Washington State Parks in Forks and then finally at Fort Flagler, but as there was the recession at the time, and the job was only part time, Miles was urged to work in a variety of other careers. Thankfully, he was able to return to his career as a park ranger and came back to Fort Flagler in 2017. He has been here ever since.  

His wife Lily and he have worked on theater productions through the years in various locations but now that he has children, ages 4 and 7, he and his wife dedicate their time to raising their family and living at Fort Flagler.  His favorite aspect of being a ranger is the variety of tasks and responsibilities for organization and people-oriented jobs, and he especially enjoys the quiet times when he can appreciate the beauty of Fort Flagler Park.  Miles loves the spirit of volunteerism that comes with a group like the Friends of Fort Flagler and he appreciates all the collaboration that makes the park the best it can be.

Kelsey Lang, from Central Florida, grew up surrounded by nature, frolicking in the forests and orange groves of her State. At university she studied a broad spectrum of science subjects including marine biology, chemistry, ecology, physics and geology and originally planned to be a marine scientist but was willing to be flexible about the future. That variety of disciplines helped her find success in her current career as an Interpretive Specialist at Forts Worden and Flagler State Parks.

Before moving to Washington State with her husband and daughter, Kelsey worked as a tour guide, doing kayak tours and boat tours and even worked briefly as a guide in the Everglades. She also spent three years doing research in estuary environments studying sea grass, oysters, and birds in the Ft. Myers, Florida area. It was afterwards that she turned towards education and found her true strength and passion teaching people about the world around them and enabling them to look at nature in a new way.  

Shortly after realizing she wanted to work in aquatic or national parks, combining her love for teaching with more hands-on pursuits, Kelsey got a job as a ranger at a girl scout camp, helping her attain the generalist skills that working in a state park would require.  

For many years Kelsey and her husband thought of leaving Florida and moving to the Pacific Northwest. Kelsey looked at government job boards to find the right match for her skills and found a listing at Forts Worden and Flagler and applied.  While still in Florida with her husband and young daughter, after multiple interviews she got the call that she was going to be hired by Washington State Parks and was thrilled. Two years ago, during the pandemic they made the cross-country move and now live at Fort Flagler.

When asked what she loves most about her job Kelsey readily answers, “freedom and creativity.” She feels lucky to have a supervisor who trusts her and enables her to try new things and to figure out what the public wants and needs. Kelsey organized the Junior Ranger Program which has been enormously successful. Part of her job is training volunteers, creating interpretive displays and signs as well as planning walking tours, and interactive programs. At the five Olympic View Area parks including Fort Flagler it is a happy challenge for her to combine military history with the natural history and splendor that is characteristic of our area. In addition to her regular responsibilities, Kelsey is working with a team of Washington State Park interpreters to explore ways to incorporate technology into interpretation. She is excited for the future and all the possibilities that it holds.