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NPS Photo/Master Volunteer David Boyle
Contact: Jessica Ferracane, 808-985-6018 Gail Minami-Judd retired from Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on May 31, 2014, following 31 years of dedication to the National Park Service (NPS). She served as the Supervisory Park Ranger and Kīlauea District Ranger for the Protection Division since 1990. Gail began her career at the USS Arizona Memorial on O'ahu in 1983, graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in 1986, then transferred to Hawai'i Volcanoes in 1987 as a Visitor and Resource Protection Ranger. Her supervisor, Chief Ranger Talmadge Magno, describes her career as "exemplary." "We recognize and applaud Gail for her dedication to the mission of the NPS in protecting the natural and cultural features of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, and providing the leadership to maintain the safety of staff and visitors in this dynamic environment," Magno said. Gail's support for the Pacific Island Network, Pacific West Region, and national programs are also noted, and she achieved numerous accolades and certifications, including achieving and maintaining a Level 1 law enforcement commission for 28 years; obtaining the level of short-haul spotter in aviation; emergency medical technician; park scuba diver; and wildland firefighter and structural firefighter. "Gail's service as Operations Chief and Incident Commander as well as Acting Chief Ranger during numerous periods and serious incidents and natural disasters were key to the success of each operation and a testament to her high level of expertise and dedication," Magno said. Some of these noted operations included: · The Department of the Interior (DOI) Special Commendation for HAVO Drug Law Enforcement Program, 1989 · DOI Excellence of Service for Park Ranger Rescue Team, 1990 · Excellence of Service Pu'u 'Ō'ō Rescue, 1993 · Excellence of Service Emergency Response Big Island Air Crash, 1999 Gail also earned the Julie Cross Women in Law Enforcement Memorial in 1988. More recently, Gail's leadership with eruption operations led to the Andrew Clark Hecht Memorial Public Safety Achievement Award in 2009 for the mitigation of hazards and high levels of SO2 associated with the current eruptions. Gail will remain in Volcano with her husband, former park criminal investigator Jeff Judd, and their three children. -NPS- |
Last updated: February 28, 2015