Shirley McKinney Named Manhattan Sites Superintendent

Newly Appointed Manhattan Sites Superintendent Shirley McKinney

NPS Photo

News Release Date: February 17, 2009

Contact: Mindi Rambo, 212-668-2208

New York, NY - Shirley McKinney has been named superintendent for Manhattan Sites, which includes Federal Hall National Memorial, Castle Clinton National Monument, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, General Grant National Memorial and Hamilton Grange National Memorial in the Borough of Manhattan, and Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site, located in Mount Vernon, New York.

Since 2007, McKinney has served as the deputy superintendent for Manhattan Sites, working with the park’s diverse communities and reorganizing park staffing and operations. She succeeds Maria Burks, who had been serving as Manhattan Sites superintendent as well as the commissioner for the National Parks of New York Harbor.

“Shirley McKinney knows the New York parks, their audiences, and knows their potential. She will be a strong advocate for reaching new audiences, for youth, and for improving visitor experiences at these significant sites in New York,” said Dennis Reidenbach, Regional Director of the National Park Service Northeast Region.

McKinney’s assignments in New York included serving as the administrative officer for Gateway National Recreation Area, one of the 10 most visited national parks, and later as the superintendent for Gateway’s Staten Island unit. Prior to becoming the deputy superintendent at Manhattan Sites she served as the executive assistant to the commissioner of the National Parks of New York Harbor, a collaboration of 10 national parks in the New York City metropolitan area.

“Manhattan welcomes nearly 50 million visitors every year from all over the world, and they come with great expectations when they visit the many cultural sites that often make up their itineraries,” said McKinney. “My goal is to ensure that when visitors to the City, or one of its 8 million residents, venture into one of our national parks, they will come away having experienced a world-class destination befitting both NPS and New York City. With that goal in mind, we will continue to engage the community in projects and are currently developing a Long Range Interpretive Plan that will guide Manhattan Sites for the foreseeable future.”

A native of Gary, Indiana McKinney is a 29-year National Park Service veteran who joined the system in 1980 as a clerk-stenographer at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. She received several promotions before moving to Mount Rushmore National Memorial in 1986 as the administrative officer, a post she held until she transferred to Gateway in 1988 as a program analyst.

McKinney earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Kentucky State University. She resides on Staten Island and has three grown children.