Fort Monroe Chesapeake Gateways Ambassador

Conservation Legacy; Hampton (VA); On-site; USD 1,528,000 - 2,068,000; Full time

Job summary

Conservation Legacy, operating through the Appalachian Conservation Corps, seeks ambassadors for Fort Monroe National Monument in Hampton, VA. You will support visitor services, help deliver interpretive programs, and develop content tied to Chesapeake Gateway resources.

This is a full-time, temporary AmeriCorps position based at Fort Monroe. The role offers a 50-week term with a weekly pay of $760 and housing not provided.

Qualifications

• Must be between ages 18 and 26 (or 35 for US veterans) and a US citizen with a HS diploma or GED.
• Experience in public-facing, visitor-service, interpretive, educational, or customer-service roles is preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to engage diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Staff visitor-contact locations and provide visitor services to orient visitors to Fort Monroe and nearby resources.
• Assist with interpretive programs, educational programs, and public events.
• Develop and deliver interpretive content about Fort Monroe’s culture and nature for diverse visitors.

Skills

Strong communication

Public service

Team collaboration

Education

Some college coursework

Job description

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 [e-mail]

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

• 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: