OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The head of Haleakala National Park in Hawaii was announced today as the new superintendent of Olympic National Park.
Sarah Creachbaum, superintendent at the national park on Maui since 2009, replaces Karen Gustin, who retired in March.
Prior to her arrival in Hawaii, she was superintendent at War in the Pacific National Historical Park on the island of Guam and American Memorial Park on the island of Saipan. She was the 2004 National Park Service Bevinetto Fellow, and served in Washington, D.C., as a staff member for the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks.
“Sarah is a proven leader and team builder, with strong wilderness management expertise. She is known for her creativity and inclusive management style,” said Pacific West Regional Director Chris Lehnertz.
“Sarah’s ability to listen and collaborate within cultures and communities and then to create a shared vision, will be an asset to Olympic National Park.”
Creachbaum began her professional career as a recreation and wilderness manager for the Shoshone National Forest in Cody, Wyo., in 1990. During the course of her career, she has worked at many national parks in the western United States, including Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.
Creachbaum currently serves as co-chair of the National Park Service Wilderness Leadership Council. She received a master’s degree in landscape architecture and environmental planning from Utah State University in 1994.
“I am absolutely thrilled to work at Olympic,” Creachbaum said in a statement issued by the National Park Service.
“It has always been a dream. I look forward to working with the park staff and the community to protect the outstanding resources of the park.”
Creachbaum’s duties as superintendent will begin this fall when she moves to the Olympic Peninsula with her husband, Bob, and their border collie Jimmy.
Olympic’s deputy superintendent, Todd Suess, 46, has been acting superintendent since Gustin’s retirement.
