Wild Turkey Federation, and Ducks Unlimited. Mentoring and service Parker is views herself as a pioneer in her field for women of color and feels a "responsibility to do well". In a 2016 address, she noted: "As one of very few women of color working in conservation at that time, I was a pioneer. It can be lonely when you’re a pioneer, because you’re all by yourself.” During her time at USFWS, Parker helped create Chicago Wilderness, a diverse coalition of conservation groups working to conserve areas in the Chicago metropolitan area. While at the USFWS Northeast regional office, she helped establish the USFWS "Invest in People" mentoring and professional leadership development program, which included opportunities for administrative personnel to get outdoors and experience some of the work conducted by field biologists; the program was later expanded to the D.C. headquarters and other regions throughout the country. She has also promoted diversity in STEM by starting career awareness institutes at Tennessee Tech University and within USFWS to expose minority students from across the country to careers in fisheries. In her current work, she continues to help underserved communities and advance diversity and inclusion in STEM. She helps conduct Wild STEM workshops throughout the world, to expose more minority youth to careers in conservation. In a 2020 feature on her career, she noted:"At this point in life, I have learned more about showing gratitude by giving back. This includes work to encourage others to help us address the climate crisis, particularly in vulnerable and underserved communities, by looking for opportunities to make a profound impact on the lives of women and diverse employees in conservation by working harder on diversity, inclusion, justice and equity. Serving in nominating and governance roles on multiple boards, I recruit and retain diversity."In 2016, she was awarded the Emmeline Moore Prize from the American Fisheries Society for her work promoting diversity and opportunity for minorities in fisheries education and careers. She has written about supporting and mentoring minority students in fisheries, including a chapter entitled Mentoring Minorities for More Effective Fisheries Management and Conservation, published in The Future of Fisheries: Perspectives for Emerging Professionals by the American Fisheries Society. On encouraging minority youth to enter conservation careers, she has said:“When I speak to youth, I tell them about my story as a pioneer conservationist and call them to action....I ask them to think about the things