Wyandotte County Kansas Parks Foundation

sfajane@gmail.com

Kerry Herndon was appointed to the Wyandotte County Parks Foundation in September 2021. She grew up in Texas, but has been a resident of Wyandotte County for many years. She is retired from public service following a career that included positions as a Seasonal Ranger with the National Park Service at Grand Canyon National Park and as an Environmental Scientist with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in Kansas City.Kerry has been involved in a number of local community organizations. She is a graduate of Leadership 2020 in Wyandotte County, served 2 terms on the Unified Government Ethics Commission including serving as Chair for 2 years, served on the Board of West Lake Homeowners Association, and served as an adult leader for Boy Scout Troop 304 while her two sons were growing up. For each of the last 10 summers she also volunteered a month of time at Shadowcliff, a mountain sanctuary and retreat center in Grand Lake, Colorado.

Kerry is a recent graduate of the K-State Master Naturalist Program and currently participates in projects with the Johnson County Extension Office. She is a member of the Sierra Club and is a past Chair of the local Kanza Group. She has had a life-long interest in parks and in exploring the world on foot since childhood when she travelled to national parks every summer, camping along the way with her parents. She became a backpacker in college and continues to both hike and backpack. Her vacations have taken her to trails in the U.S. and in far-away places like Iceland, Patagonia and Peru.

Kerry has recently decided to put her energy into developing and improving trails in Wyandotte County. She led the Foundation’s project to develop a Restoration Plan for the Bridle Trail at Wyandotte County Lake Park and to install signage
for the trail. More recently she was instrumental in developing the “Become A Birder Trail” for the Schlagle Library and Environmental Learning Center, also located at Wyandotte County Lake Park.

Kerry is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas where she earned a B.A. in English and a M.S. degree in Natural Science. She lives in Kansas City, Kansas with her husband and a rich array of backyard wildlife.