News Release
Date: September 4, 2020
Contact: NewsMedia@nps.gov
NPS Photo
WASHINGTON – Margaret Everson, Counselor to the Secretary, exercising the delegated authority of the National Park Service Director, announced Joy Beasley as the permanent Associate Director of Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science.
“Joy’s more than 20 years of experience and dedication to historical preservation makes her a wonderful permanent addition to our senior leadership,” said Everson. “I look forward to continuing to work alongside Joy as we implement the Great American Outdoors Act. Her experience working with tribes, states and local governments, and partners who believe in the importance of our shared heritage and its preservation will be critical to our success in achieving the vision of this landmark conservation legislation.”
Beasley, who has served as the acting associate director since 2017, assumed the permanent role on August 31. She serves as the senior NPS official responsible for guiding a national historic preservation program that supports the work of the national parks and heritage resources throughout the nation. Her responsibilities include developing national policy guidance for the management of more than 82,000 identified archeological sites, 850 cultural landscapes, 26,000 historic structures, 400 ethnographic resources, over 48.3 million museum objects, and 85,158 linear feet of NPS archives. Beasley oversees the designation management of the National Historic Landmarks and National Register of Historic Places programs representing more than 1.8 million buildings, structures, sites, and objects. In addition, she manages over 1,000 active grant awards totaling more than $370 million annually.
“I'm grateful for the support and assistance my staff and the broader historic preservation community have shown me as I stepped into the acting role,” said Beasley. “I am honored to continue to fulfill the mission of the NPS and preserve America’s history with my incredible team and partners.”
Prior to joining the national office in 2016 as the deputy associate director for cultural resources, Beasley served as the chief of cultural resources for the Interior Region 1: National Capital Area office. In 1998, she began her association with the NPS as a research associate with the University of Maryland at Manassas National Battlefield Park and went on to lead a variety of archeological research projects in national parks across the greater Washington, D.C. area. She officially began working for the NPS in 2003 and served as the cultural resources program manager at Monocacy National Battlefield from 2004-2013.
Beasley received her undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in applied anthropology from the University of Maryland.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Last updated: September 4, 2020