Why I’m All for Parks: A Letter from Emily Moore, Executive Director, Cabrillo National Monument Foundation
I like to say that Cabrillo National Monument and I found each other long before I ever imagined leading this amazing organization.
When I moved to San Diego in 2006, I knew only a few people. I had always loved national parks, so I quickly found my way to Cabrillo National Monument. It became a place I returned to often, not to be alone, but to be around people. It gave me a sense of comfort and belonging at a time when I was still building a life in a new city. Long before I understood visitation numbers, economic impact, or the role a friends group could play in supporting a national park, I understood something much more personal: this place mattered. It mattered deeply to my own well-being, and I could feel that it mattered to others, too.
What I felt then was connection. Not just to the landscape, but to something much larger. To the people standing beside me. To the generations who had come before me. To the people who would one day visit after me. Looking back, I was feeling the vast, living web of connection that is the National Park System.
Over time, Cabrillo became the place I brought everyone who visited me—family, friends, and first-time visitors to San Diego. It was my way of saying: this place is special, and it needs to be shared. What I did not know then was that one day I would have the privilege of giving back to a park that had already given so much to me.
When I stepped into the role of CNMF’s Executive Director eight years ago, I felt a deep responsibility to grow the organization, expand its impact, and help ensure that all visitors could experience and enjoy the park. That responsibility has since been shaped and strengthened by close, ongoing relationships with friends group leaders and park partners across the country. We are constantly sharing ideas, strategies, and lessons learned, all with the same goal: to make our parks extraordinary not just for today, but for the next generation.
Today, Cabrillo National Monument stands as a small but incredibly mighty urban national park, welcoming approximately one million visitors each year. For some, the park is an essential part of their physical and mental well-being, visiting every day to hike the park’s trails or enjoy a quiet moment of reflection. For others, it is where a first visit becomes a lasting connection or family tradition practiced year-after-year.
At the same time, many San Diegans have never visited, or even heard of, Cabrillo. That contrast continues to drive our work. It reminds us that stewardship is not only about preserving a place, but also about helping people discover that it belongs to them.
Leading the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation is deeply personal to me, but it is also a profound responsibility. It means caring for a place that has shaped my own life while helping ensure it remains meaningful for others. It means honoring Cabrillo’s legacy, investing in its future, and working every day to make sure more people feel the same sense of connection, belonging, and wonder that first drew me here. That is why I am all for parks: because these places have the power to shape us, connect us, and stay with us, and because they deserve all of us in return.
All For Parks,
Emily Moore
Executive Director, Cabrillo National Monument Foundation
