- January 10, 2025
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Erin Minor, 42, CEO of Harvest House. For 15 years, she has led the Sarasota nonprofit that provides affordable housing and hunger relief programs throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. In March, she will transition into a role as the vice president of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. “I'll be able to take my years of experience to the table …. to have an expanded impact across our region for good,” Minor says. In fiscal year 2023, the foundation granted $39.8 million to various philanthropic causes.
Minor is on a mission to visit every national park in the United States. So far, she says she has been to more than 20. There are 63 national parks in all. The journey began in 2009 when she and her wife visited Yosemite National Park in California. A few years later, their interest took off when they traveled to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. "It was so breathtaking," Minor says. After visiting the two parks, she and her wife decided: “We've got to see the rest of these. And it's just really developed into a love for the gems that we have….If you only go to a few of them, you don't realize how different they are.”
Park it up: “Our goal is basically to hit at least one each year,” Minor says. However, this year, the couple took on seven national parks because there are five in southern Utah within a nine-hour drive, according to Minor. Then they did Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in California.
Picture this: One piece of gear Minor takes on all her trips is her camera. “I have always had a love for wildlife photography,” Minor says. In November 2022, she and her wife were in Grand Teton National Park, when, she says, she had the “most incredible experience” that she got to capture on her birthday. She got up at 5 a.m. to see if she could spot some moose. “I'm one of those crazy people who stand out in like 10-degree weather” to take photographs and “in those moments I don't even know that I'm freezing. I'm so excited…that adrenaline, excitement just keeps you going.” She was 25 or 35 yards away from a group of bull moose “knocking racks back and forth and chasing each other like teenage boys just having a little fun,” Minor says. “It was such a gift for my 40th birthday.”
Take a hike: Each trip lasts at least a few days to explore a park, sometimes more. The couple typically takes 3 or 4-mile hikes. “We’re not doing 13-mile treks in a day. We’re not killing ourselves,” Minor says. “Our hiking is [about] seeing beautiful sights. I think the animals and the wildlife [are] probably what attracts us the most to the national parks.” Her wife’s favorite animals to see are bears, while Minor says she has a fondness for moose.
Trip tradition: At every park they visit, Minor and her wife buy a Christmas ornament. “Our tree is full of them,” she says. “Every year, we reminisce and talk about it, just [taking] a moment to reflect and remember how fortunate we've been to see some indescribable places.”
Peak interest: So far, Minor says her favorite park is Grand Teton in Wyoming. “I love mountains,” the lifelong Floridan says, so they are novel. She also likes the ease of getting there and the town. “You can fly right to Jackson Hole and drive 15 minutes, be in the town and have good dinner and see beautiful art galleries. It's just an iconic area.”
What’s next: While no trips have been planned yet, Minor hopes to visit Glacier National Park in Montana. “That’s on our mind to hit this summer,” she says.
Find peace: Part of what keeps Minor going back to the national parks is the state of mind and perspective her trips bring. “I've been in human services my entire career, and when I get this time away to go explore and enjoy nature and the peace of it all, when I come back to the suffering that we see so often, I’m reminded it doesn't have to be this way,” Minor says. “It regrounds me” and can “also remind you…that we're all very small parts of this world.”
