CNPSR Welcomes Rick Smith As New Chair of the Executive Council

After serving as the chair of the Executive Council of CNPSR since its inception, J.W. (Bill) Wade has taken a post overseas. He will remain active in his role as Founding Director, with full voting rights.

Richard B. (Rick) Smith retired from the National Park Service after 31 years. During his career, he worked as a ranger, a mid-level supervisor, and a senior manager. He accepted assignments in Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Albright Training Center in Grand Canyon, the Washington Office, Everglades, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains, and the Southwest Region. Prior to joining the National Park Service, Rick taught in the public school system and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the National University, Asuncion, Paraguay. Rick earned his B.A. degree in History at Albion College, Michigan. He also holds an M.A. in English Language and Literature from Michigan State University.

Upon his retirement, Rick became a conservation consultant, working primarily in Latin America because of his Spanish language skills. He has worked extensively in Central and South America with government management officials and public non-profit groups that have an interest in the management of Latin American protected area systems. Much of his work has been focused on improving the knowledge, skills, and abilities of park rangers in this part of the world.

Rick has been very active with CNPSR. Among many other things, he manages a subscription service by which participants can receive daily feeds of news media stories about the National Park Service.

Rick's term expires December 31, 2012. He may be contacted at .