Gretel Enck

Gretel Enck is running for Texas District 23 because she understands that government must serve the people, not the powerful. A dedicated public servant with 25 years in the National Park Service (NPS), Gretel has spent her career protecting America’s public lands and standing with communities whose voices have been overlooked.

Rooted in community, Gretel’s values were shaped by her rural upbringing and her parents, first-generation college graduates who raised her on lessons of self-reliance, hard work, and respect for the land. This foundation led her to a life of service, including two years in the Peace Corps in Romania, where she taught environmental and life skills to orphaned children.

Protecting our history throughout her NPS career, Gretel worked across the West—from Utah to Alaska to Death Valley—preserving landscapes and honest history. At Manzanar National Historic Site, she worked closely with Japanese American families to ensure the truth of their WWII incarceration was preserved with dignity. In Marfa, Texas, Gretel discovered the Blackwell School, a former segregated school for Mexican American children. She joined community advocates to elevate this important history from local memory to national recognition.

Gretel’s commitment to courage and compassion is deeply personal. In 2022, she donated one of her kidneys to a stranger in San Antonio, giving someone else a second chance at life.

After witnessing the erosion of public trust and the weakening of essential services, Gretel accepted an early retirement in 2025. Now, she is stepping forward to bring vision, integrity, and compassion to Congress, fighting for the working families and public institutions that make our communities strong.