Olympic National Park hires former Mount Rainier ranger as deputy superintendent

Lee Taylor, who worked at Mount Rainier National Park for more than a decade, is the new deputy superintendent at Olympic National Park.

Taylor currently is the superintendent of San Juan Island National Historic Park, a post she’s held for three years. She worked the previous 11 years at Rainier. Taylor starts at Olympic in September.

Olympic National Park officials made the announcement July 24.

“I am very pleased to have Lee join our staff and community,” Olympic superintendent Sarah Creachbaum said in a news release. “Lee is a proven leader with a strong background in both park operations and the Pacific Northwest.”

Taylor has worked 30 years for the Park Service, starting as a student intern at Yosemite National Park in 1984. She came to Mount Rainier in 2001, and worked there 11 years as the head of that park’s interpretive, educational and volunteer programs.

“Olympic National Park, with its mountains, coastline, old-growth forest and human history, is a spectacular place,” Taylor said in a prepared statement. “I am excited to work with the park’s staff and partners to help manage and protect it for future generations.”

Taylor will fill the deputy superintendent position formerly held by Todd Suess, who was named superintendent of California’s Mojave National Preserve earlier this year.

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Olympic National Park hires former Mount Rainier ranger as deputy superintendent."