Secretary
Norton Praises U.S. Senate Confirmation of
Fran Mainella as Director of the National Park Service
First Woman to Head the 85-year-old Agency
Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton today praised the Senate's bipartisan confirmation of Fran P. Mainella as the Director of the National Park Service.
Ms. Mainella was nominated by President Bush on June 4, 2001, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 12. She becomes the 16th Director of the National Park Service and the first woman to head the 85-year-old agency.
"Fran Mainella is an extraordinarily talented public servant with a unique blend of skills and experience, that will serve her and the Administration well as Director of the National Park Service," said Norton. "Thanks to the bipartisan confirmation by the Senate, she becomes a part of the leadership team at Interior that will listen to local concerns, make responsible decisions that are committed to good stewardship and the protection of America's special places for the sake of our children and for future generations of Americans."
As Director, Mainella will have policy and administrative responsibility for the 384 units and 83 million acres within the National Park System. With an annual budget of $2.4 billion, the National Park System is managed by 20,000 permanent and seasonal employees and enjoyed by more than 285 million visitors each year.
"I am excited and inspired by the challenges that this position holds as we work to conserve our country's precious natural and cultural resources, and improve outdoor recreational opportunities within the National Park System," said Mainella. "I look forward to working with the dedicated women and men of the National Park Service, as well as local, state and private sector partners, to help fulfill my commitment to the conservation and restoration of our national parks."
Mainella has more than 30 years of experience in the park management and recreation field. Since 1989, she has been the Director of the Division of Recreation and Parks for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In this position she was responsible for the administration of more than 500,000 acres within 153 state parks, museums, preserves, recreation areas, historic sites, geological sites, botanical gardens, archeological sites, wildlife park, and trails. As Director, Mainella supervised planning, design and construction within the state park system, coordinated the statewide marketing, volunteerism, and technical assistance programs, and served as Florida's Outdoor Recreational State Liaison Officer administering Land and Water Conservation Fund grants.
Mainella's leadership abilities led to increased participation in public-private partnerships, increased volunteerism, and to the establishment of a service integrity-training program for the state park system's 1,000 employees. Mainella also founded new funding concepts including "Partnership in Parks" that is a 60/40 matching public-private partnership, and reorganized the Division of Recreation and Parks with an emphasis on decentralization and grass roots involvement. During her tenure, the National Sporting Goods Association awarded the prestigious 1999-2001 "State Parks Gold Medal" to Florida's state park system, recognizing it as the best state park system in all 50 states.
Prior to her position as Florida's state parks director, Mainella served as Executive Director of the Florida Recreation and Park Association (1983-1989), Director of Recreation, Lake Park, Florida (1978-1983), and Assistant Center Director, Tallahassee Parks and Recreation Department (1977-1978).
Among her numerous awards and honors, Mainella received the 2000 Harold D. Meyer Professional Award, the highest award given by the National Recreation and Park Association Southern Regional Council; the 1999 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of State Park Directors; the 1998 Pugsley Medal, the highest professional honor given by the American Academy of Park and Recreation Administration; and the 1998 William Penn Mott, Jr. Award for Excellence presented by the National Society for Park Resources.
Mainella served as the immediate past-president of the National Association of State Park Directors, past-president of the National Recreation and Park Association, and the Secretary of Florida A & M University's Landscape Design Advisory Council.
Mainella is a member of the Florida Tourism Commission, the statewide Eco-Tourism/Heritage Tourism Committee, National Recreation and Park Association, National Association of State Park Directors, Florida Recreation and Park Association, National Society of Park Resources, National Association of State Recreation Liaison Officers, American Academy of Park and Recreation Administration, Tallahassee Society of Association Executives, and Zonta International.
Mainella is a native of Willimantic, Connecticut. She holds a master's degree from Central Connecticut State College and a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut.
7/18/2001