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	<em style="font-size: 12px;">Today, there are over 4,000 Au Sable alumni around the world doing great things to serve and protect our precious natural world. Profiles in Stewardship shares the significant accomplishments, enduring effort, and lasting effectiveness of Au Sable alumni as they seek to do God&#39;s work in the world. We hope these stories create a space for mutual admiration, common purpose, and collective achievement among all those doing creation care. &nbsp;In two words, true community. To learn more, read Executive Director Fred Van Dyke&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="{filedir_11}news_and_resources/blog/introducing_profiles_in_stewardship_by_fred_van_dyke_executive_director#.UX6fYrU3uSo">introduction to this blog series</a>.</em></p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}IMG_4667.jpg" style="width: 133px; height: 200px; float: right;" />Curtis Witek (Au Sable alum &#39;12) finds his calling at the intersection of urban life and environmental sustainability. An Environmental Studies (B.S.) major with an Urban Studies Certificate from Wheaton College and a Land Resource Analyst Certificate from Au Sable, Curtis has focused on issues of urban watershed management in his home place of Chicago. Urban environmental issues are on-going and require navigating complex social and environmental dynamics to ensure that both people and the local environment thrive. &nbsp;<span style="font-size: 12px;">Curtis&#39; most recent position, a fellowship with the National Park Service in their Rivers, Trail and Conservation Assistance Program, requires building community coalitions with diverse constituencies to solve community problems and take advantage of community assets. </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">We caught up with Curtis to learn more about his work in Chicago.</span></p>
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	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What do you do in your current position?</strong></p>
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	As the community assistance arm of the National Park Service, we provide a variety of services to local partners like strategic planning, partnership development, trail and water trail planning, meeting facilitation, open space conservation, and others. We work with partners that have a vision for a trail, park or restoration project in their community, and help them translate this vision into on-the-ground action by providing technical capacity where it&rsquo;s needed.</p>
