News Release

Abigail Aldrich selected as Deputy Superintendent of Badlands National Park/Superintendent of Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Abigail Aldrich will be the new deputy superintendent at Badlands National Park and superintendent at Minuteman Missil National Historic Site in South Dakota

NPS Photo

News Release Date: December 6, 2023

Contact: Eric Veach

INTERIOR, South Dakota. — Badlands National Park superintendent Eric Veach announced the selection of Abigail Aldrich as the new deputy superintendent of Badlands National Park/superintendent of Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota. Aldrich is currently a project manager with the Harpers Ferry Center in West Virginia. She will assume her new role in South Dakota in January 2024.  

“I am excited to announce Abigail as the new deputy superintendent of Badlands National Park, and also superintendent of Minuteman Missile National Historic Site,” said Veach. “Her diverse background in project and program management, resource interpretation, and media design and development will serve both parks and our partners well as we plan for the future.”   

Aldrich has almost 10 years of federal service with the National Park Service and is currently Harpers Ferry Center’s Project Manager for the Midwest Region. She began her career as an objects conservator at the Harpers Ferry Center in West Virginia, where she also served as an exhibits specialist in Media Development. In addition to her experience as a conservator at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C, Aldrich also worked as a supervisory conservator at the National Archives and Records Administration. She has extensive experience in team leadership, media design and development, and project compliance and management.  

"I am honored to be selected as the new deputy superintendent of Badlands National Park and superintendent of Minuteman Missile National Historic Site,” Aldrich said. “I have worked with both parks since 2013 on multiple interpretive projects, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve their staff and partners in a leadership position. I look forward to contributing to the ongoing preservation and interpretation of these two significant resources.” 

Aldrich will be relocating to the area in January, fulfilling a dream that began on her first project trip to South Dakota ten years ago. Her husband Aaron and their French bulldog Lasagna are looking forward to joining her in the Badlands and enjoying the stunning landscapes, diverse wildlife, and dark night skies of this special place.