Barbara Alberti to Return as Superintendent of Guam and Saipan National Parks

Barbara Alberti named as new superintendent of War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam and American Memorial Park.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: October 11, 2017

Contact: Theo Chargualaf, 671-477-7278 ext. 1005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Release Date: October 12, 2017
Contact: Theo Chargualaf

Phone: [phone] ext. 1005

Barbara Alberti to Return as Superintendent of Guam and Saipan National Parks

SAN FRANCISCO - The National Park Service has named Barbara Alberti superintendent of War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam and American Memorial Park in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. These two units of the Park Service are located west of the international date line at the eastern edge of the Philippine Sea and south of Japan. Alberti previously served as the parks’ superintendent from 2009 to 2013.

"Barbara’s strong collaborative leadership skills and deep knowledge of the parks makes her well suited for the position,” said Laura E. Joss, regional director for the Park Service’s Pacific West Region.

Throughout her National Park Service career, Alberti has worked in a variety of positions, most recently as the Pacific West Region’s lead for conducting internal compliance reviews. She has held temporary superintendent positions at the National Park of American Samoa, and at Pu`uhonua o Hōnaunau and Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Parks on the island of Hawaii. Alberti also spent many years working in parks in Arizona and California, including Coronado National Memorial and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

 

“The employees at these two parks are so dedicated to honoring the lives of those who sacrificed so much for freedom,” said Alberti. “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to work with them again. I look forward to reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, and living in Micronesia again.”

 

Before joining the National Park Service, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa, as a natural resources extension agent. She collaborated with a German aid organization promoting cashew plantations in small villages to provide a cash crop from the nuts and improve nutrition with the cashew apples.

 

Having a natural aptitude for languages, she speaks German, French, Italian, and Wolof. She has published a number of biological monographs and papers. Alberti holds a degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her spare time, Alberti enjoys bicycling, swimming, snorkeling, and traveling.

 

Alberti will arrive on Guam in January.

 

War in the Pacific National Historical Park commemorates the bravery, courage, and sacrifice of those who participated in the campaigns of the Pacific Theater of World War II. American Memorial Park, on the island of Saipan, honors the American and Marianas people who gave their lives during the Marianas Campaign. These two parks, located on volcanic islands 120 miles apart, are also home to an astounding number of organisms that live in the limestone forests, tropical savanna grasslands, streams, wetlands, and coral reefs.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Barbara Alberti is available for interviews, contact: [e-mail] or 415-769-1470, she is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hawaii time.