National Park Service names Sue Masica as Intermountain Regional Director

— November 19, 2013

(Press release) National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis has named Sue Masica as the Service’s Intermountain regional director, responsible for leading 6,000 employees and 91 national parks visited by more than 42 million people annually. Masica, who serves as the Alaska regional director, assumes her new position in Denver in January.

Sue Masica, Intermountain Regional Director for the National Park Service.

“Sue has an incredible track record of tackling tough issues and finding innovative solutions,” Jarvis said. “Results-oriented and goal-driven, Sue manages by inclusion, building a collaborative work ethic among employees and with partners. She strives for the highest standards of transparency and accountability. She brings great experience to her new position from her previous National Park Service assignments. Sue is a valued member of our national senior management team.”

“Serving as the Intermountain regional director is a tremendous honor,” Masica said. “The region is home to spectacular landscapes and compelling stories; places that have been entrusted to the National Park Service by the American people for nearly 100 years. I’m looking forward to working with communities and National Park Service staff on issues that are very different from those in Alaska, like Colorado River water, and others that are similar, such as partnering on close-to-home recreational opportunities.

“This is an opportunity to support employees in their efforts to care for these special places and engage park visitors, partners, and communities,” Masica said. “I will listen carefully to their voices as we work together to preserve these treasures, engage the public, draw young people to the parks, and provide meaningful experiences to our diverse audiences.”

As the Alaska regional director since May 2008, Masica oversees the largest national park and preserve acreage in the United States – 54.7 million acres – and an annual operating budget of more than $100 million. During her tenure in Alaska, she led critical planning exercises in anticipation of declining federal budgets, expanded the Service’s work with Alaska Native tribes and organizations, and expanded the public outreach efforts at both the regional office and parks.

Masica has 25 years of federal service, and is a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award for her leadership accomplishments with the National Park Service. Prior to arriving in Alaska, she held senior leadership positions overseeing the Service’s Washington office operations, facility infrastructure investment and planning, and administration programs.

Prior to joining the National Park Service, Masica served 10 years on the staff of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations, and as staff director of the Subcommittee on the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies. She began her federal career as a Presidential Management Intern with the Department of the Interior.

Masica earned a Master of Public Affairs, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas; and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Austin College (Texas).

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for:

Your real name — first and last.
Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
No more than three comments per story, including replies.

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
Comments that are not directly relevant to the article.
Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know:

Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement.
We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance.
Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you.