News Release
You are viewing ARCHIVED content published online before January 20, 2025.
Please note that this content is NOT UPDATED, and links may not work. For current information,
visit https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/index.htm.
NPS Photo
Subscribe
 |
What is RSS
|
Contact: Tom Farrell, 605-745-1130
HOT SPRINGS, SD – After a twenty-one and a half-year career with the National Park Service, three and a half of those at Wind Cave National Park, Superintendent Leigh Welling is retiring June 29.
Welling began her career with the NPS in 2002 as director for the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center at Glacier National Park in Montana. In 2007, Welling moved to Fort Collins, Colorado where she served as the national lead for climate change, eventually helping to establish and lead the NPS Climate Change Response Program in 2010. In 2015, Welling began working for the Alaska Regional Office, first as the regional chief scientist and then as the associate regional director for science, communication, and partnerships.
Welling earned an undergraduate degree in Geology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Masters and PhD in Oceanography from Oregon State University. Prior to her career in the NPS, she held positions at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she worked on practices to increase diversity and inclusion in earth science curricula, and at the University of North Dakota, where she was director of the Regional Earth Science Applications Center.
Welling is retiring to Chadron, Nebraska, where she grew up. She looks forward to spending more time with family and friends along with riding her bike and exploring the outdoors.
Rhonda Schier, currently superintendent of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Southern Indiana, will serve as Wind Cave’s Acting Superintendent for the next four months.
Last updated: March 10, 2025