For Immediate Release:
December 14, 2009
Contact: David Barna (202) 208-6843,
Holly Bundock (510) 817-1320, or
Adrienne Freeman (559) 565-3131
New Superintendent
Named for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Washington, DC – National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis
announced today that Karen Taylor-Goodrich has been selected as the new
superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California.
“Karen is a seasoned leader who has successfully managed complex and
controversial issues for the National Park Service at the national and
international levels for the last six years. The tremendous depth of
experience that she brings to this new assignment will serve the park
and its partners very well,” said Jarvis.
“I took my very first backpacking trip into Kings Canyon National Park
from the east side of the Sierras when I was a teenager,” said
Taylor-Goodrich. “As a kid from the L.A. suburbs, that experience opened
up a world that has become my passion and career. I’m delighted to be
returning to the place that kindled my interest in protected areas and
my understanding of the powerful influence wild places can have on each
of us.”
Taylor-Goodrich has served as the National Park Service’s first
Associate Director for Visitor and Resource Protection since 2003,
leading a staff of over 160, and managing an operating budget in excess
of $22 million for seven national divisions that included law
enforcement, security and emergency services; fire and aviation;
employee and public health and safety; wilderness stewardship; and
special park uses and regulations.
In addition to her current assignment in the national office,
Taylor-Goodrich has more than 25 years of experience directing a diverse
range of park-level operational programs at Yosemite National Park (CA)
and Grand Canyon National Park (AZ), Cumberland Island National Seashore
(GA), Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (WA), and National Capital
Parks-East (DC).
As current Chair of the Interagency Wilderness Policy Council, she has
coordinated federal efforts on a range of wilderness protection and
management issues, including a focus on the nexus between protected
areas and the impacts of climate change. Among her notable
accomplishments is the signing last month of an interagency Memorandum
of Agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the United States, creating a
framework for cooperation and coordination with the three nations for
transboundary wilderness
conservation.
Taylor-Goodrich’s international work experience includes assignments as
a ranger at Kosciusko National Park in Australia, project team leader in
the Maasai Mara region of Tanzania, and U.S. case manager for the
Cambodian Refugee Resettlement Program in Thailand. "I’m excited about
the many challenges and opportunities Sequoia and Kings Canyon presents.
I look forward to getting to know and working with the park staff, the
local communities, my interagency colleagues, and our other partners to
protect and conserve this very special region,” said Taylor-Goodrich,
who is scheduled to start at the park in early February.
Taylor-Goodrich received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from
Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, followed by graduate work
in natural resource management.
-NPS-
Editor’s note: Taylor-Goodrich is available for interviews at (202)
565-1020.
