Jesse Pope leads a visiting school group in a nature-based game. In 2004, Pope developed the Naturalist program at Grandfather Mountain that now serves thousands of school children each year. (The Herald/Helen Moss Davis)

The Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation is proud to announce that Director of Education and Natural Resources, Jesse Pope has been selected as a member of the “Forty for the Future,” travel’s leading talent project by the Southeast Tourism Society.

The purpose of the award is to recognize 40 young professionals under the age of 40 from across the country in the tourism industry.  The goal is to highlight certain younger professionals whose work and commitment to travel and tourism has made a positive difference.

Jesse Pope came to Grandfather in 2002 as a wildlife keeper and backcountry ranger.  In 2004, Pope’s extraordinary knowledge and friendly demeanor led management to ask him to develop a Naturalist program for Grandfather Mountain.

During his tenure as Chief Naturalist, Pope took the program from the seed of an idea to the experience that visitors report adds the most value to a visit.  In 2010, he was named Director of Education and Natural Resources, managing three full time and three part time employees.

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