Woman with brown hair smiling, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, standing outdoors in a grassy field with trees and clear blue sky in the background.

About ERICA WHEELER
Interpretive Trainer | Keynote Speaker | Sense of Place Advocate

Press & Media Kit → | Contact →

Erica Wheeler is the founder of Sense of Place Consulting and the creator of the Sense of Place Story Framework, a place-centered approach that helps people find, shape, and share stories of connection that lead to caring and action.

She works with parks, museums, heritage sites, and mission-driven organizations across the country, offering professional training, keynote programs, and community experiences that strengthen meaningful connections between people and place.

For almost 20 years, Erica has trained interpreters, educators, and resource specialists—including staff at over 45 National Park Service sites nationwide—supporting them in designing and delivering programs that are clear, engaging, and grounded in meaning.

She has led multi-week training programs for the National Association for Interpretation and has published widely in professional journals, including Legacy. Her 2025 article, “The Interpreter’s Technique Compass,’’ which reflects the core of her approach.

A TEDx speaker, Erica has delivered keynote presentations at multiple Governor’s Conferences on Tourism and at conferences and gatherings ranging from the New Mexico Council on Aging to the American Horticultural Society.

Before becoming a professional interpretive trainer and writing mentor, Erica was best known as an award-winning touring singer-songwriter. She has performed at festivals and venues across North America since 1992.

She has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and on the Voice of America, with her music charting in the top ten on Billboard's Gavin Americana Chart and featured in publications including Yankee Magazine and The Washington Post.

Erica's album Good Summer Rain was created in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and earned NAI's 2008 Media Award for Best Interpretive Music—bridging conservation and the arts in ways that now define her approach to interpretation.

She holds a BA in Liberal Arts from Hampshire College, where she studied natural science, arts and humanities, and social science.

Today she lives in the hills of western Massachusetts in a 125-year-old house beside a rushing stream with her partner of 25 years, surrounded by forests, dairy farms, and maple sugar operations.

Press & Media Kit → | Contact →

A woman with short curly hair standing outdoors in a rural setting during dusk or dawn, with a barn, trees, and mountains in the background. She is wearing a black shawl. The image includes the text "erica wheeler" and "good summer rain."

Career Highlights

Training & Speaking:

∙45+ National Park Service sites nationwide (from Yosemite NP to the National Mall and Memorial Parks)

∙Governor's Conferences on Tourism (Arkansas, New Mexico, Wisconsin)

∙National Association for Interpretation (multi-week training programs, keynotes)

∙TEDx: "To Know Who You Are, Know Where You Are"

∙American Association for State and Local History

∙New England Museum Association

Publications:

∙"The Interpreter's Technique Compass" (Legacy, 2025)

∙"Place as Medicine" (Legacy, 2020)

∙"The Craft of Engagement" (Legacy, 2016)

∙ "A Soulful Sense of Place" (Legacy, 2013)

∙Ranger (ANPR's journal)

Recognition:

∙Featured: NPR's All Things Considered, Voice of America, Yankee Magazine, The Washington Post

∙ NAI Media Award for Best Interpretive Music (2008)

∙ Billboard Gavin Americana Top Ten

A woman with brown hair singing and playing an acoustic guitar on a stage with purple curtains, a music stand, and a podium, with the New Mexico state flag in the background.
A woman sitting on a red park bench outdoors, smiling and holding a guitar, surrounded by greenery and flowers.