Since its inception, professional development has always been an important part of PYC. Creating hands-on, accessible learning opportunities for educators serves two major purposes:

• Professional development equips educators with the knowledge and tools they need to create impactful youth programs.
• Professional development events create opportunities for educators to build inter-organizational networks and collaboration.

As PYC has evolved over time, our work in Shared Learning has evolved as well. Beginning in 2016, PYC created Train-the-Trainer cohorts, made of educational staff from the National Park Service, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and Presidio Trust. Over several months, each cohort received intensive training from  focused on a major topic, so that they could master that topic, return to their respective teams, and train their own team members. The three cohorts were: 

• The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Cohort, which focused on teaching tools to help youth from historically marginalized communities feel welcome in the park and park programs. 
• The Youth Development Cohort, which focused on teaching tools that empower youth to become active community members and leaders, and help youth grow their social-emotional wellbeing.
• The Educational Excellence Cohort, which focused on teaching tools and classroom best practices to ensure maximum impact and engagement for youth programs.

While these three cohorts were effective, PYC began growing to involve other partners in the park. With new connections and opportunities for collaboration in mind, a new professional development structure was born: the Professional Development (PD) Leads Team. Made up of highly motivated and experienced staff from different organizations in the park, the PD Leads team works with the PYC PD Program Manager to curate and develop training opportunities for all park staff.

Below is a list of many topics that PYC has addressed in previous trainings, many of which were in collaboration with experienced park staff and thought-leading consultants in those topics:

• Childhood Trauma Informed Programming w/ Ranger Elizabeth Villano
• Climates Without Borders
• Cultural Competency w/ Be the Change
• DEI 101 and Park Stewardship
• DEI Film Screenings
• Dialogue Methodology and Technique w/ International Coalition of Sites of Conscience
• Different Learning Abilities & IEPs
• Differentiated Instruction w/ Glass Educational Consulting
• Education Excellence Training w/ Daisy Martin
• Equitable Hiring Practices w/ the GGNPC Nursery Team
• Physical Accessibility in Programs w/ Michael Faw, NPS Accessibility and Media Specialist
• Place-based Inquiry w/ Daisy Martin
• Racial Equity: Foundations in Historical and Institutional Racism
• Restorative Practices w/ Be the Change and Margaret McGarry
• Successful and Effective Mentoring for Positive Internship Experiences
• Summer Youth Intern Youth Leadership Framework Training
• Questioning Techniques and Critical Thinking
• When Does the Story Begin? Historic Inquiry Training
• Workforce Equity in Parks and Recreation
• Youth Development Methodology
• Youth Development Training for Mentors