~ Press release submitted by Shenandoah National Park
WASHINGTON – Jennifer Flynn, a 29-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), will serve as the Associate Director for Visitor and Resource Protection for the agency. She will be located at headquarters in Washington, DC, beginning April 12, 2020.
“Jennifer brings incredible skill and leadership to the national program that coordinates the protection of visitors, employees, and resources of our country’s national parks,” said NPS Deputy Director David Vela, exercising the authority of the Director. “Her years of experience coordinating emergency services, managing search and rescue and emergency medical care, wildland fire, and emergency communications operations as well as her outstanding leadership skills make her an excellent choice to lead the Visitor and Resource Protection program. I look forward to working closely with Jennifer in her new role.”
As Associate Director, Flynn will serve as the NPS senior official responsible for 30 service-wide programs, 850 employees, and a budget exceeding $200 million. Her areas of responsibility will include law enforcement, security and emergency services, fire and aviation management, risk management and occupational safety, public health services, regulations and special park uses, wilderness stewardship, the NPS component at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and the U.S. Park Police. The NPS is grateful to Deputy Associate Director for Visitor and Resource Protection Louis Rowe, who has acted in the position for the past 23 months.
“When I reflect on my career with the National Park Service, I appreciate how fortunate I have been to have lived and worked in some of America’s most special places,” said Flynn. “I am incredibly proud of my past service as a U.S. Park Ranger and am honored to be able to use that experience to further support the dedicated public safety and law enforcement professionals of the National Park Service as Associate Director.”
Flynn is currently the Superintendent of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. As the senior manager of the park, Flynn is responsible for the preservation, interpretation, maintenance, administration, and development of the park and the safety and well-being of staff, volunteers, and visitors for the park, and along with oversight responsibility for Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park.
Prior to her appointment at Shenandoah, Flynn’s entire career has been in the Visitor and Resource Protection Division of the NPS. She has served as a federal law enforcement officer, an EMT-Intermediate, structural firefighter, wildland firefighter, search and rescue technician, jailer, dispatcher, and fee manager. She has also served as an Operations Chief on the NPS Incident Management Team.
Flynn will be moving to the Washington, DC area with her family in the coming months to begin her new assignment.
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