Cicely Muldoon, Yosemite National Park’s new superintendent. NPS Photo/Michael Woolsey
WASHINGTON – The National Park Service has selected Cicely Muldoon, a 35-year veteran of the National Park Service, as the new permanent superintendent of Yosemite National Park. Muldoon has been serving as the acting superintendent since January.
“Cicely is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding and compassionate leaders across the National Park Service. I’m thrilled to have someone with Cicely’s proven and respected track record leading one of America's most iconic and complex national parks,” said Margaret Everson, Counselor to the Secretary, exercising the delegated authority of the National Park Service Director. “Cicely’s track record of building strong relationships with park partners, local communities and elected officials will be invaluable as the National Park Service and Yosemite implement the Great American Outdoors Act.”
In her new role, Muldoon will oversee the 750,000-acre park and its 1,200 employees. Home to granite peaks, domes and waterfalls that overlook broad meadows, wildflowers and groves of ancient giant sequoias, Yosemite attracts more than four million visitors annually, who spend nearly half a billion dollars in nearby communities supporting over 6,000 local jobs.
“A childhood visit to Yosemite introduced me to national parks. It captured my imagination and my heart then, and still does. It’s the honor of my career to join the outstanding team of employees and partners who care for and love Yosemite as much as I do,” said Muldoon.
Prior to her acting position at Yosemite, Muldoon served for nearly 10 years as the superintendent at Point Reyes National Seashore— one of the most ecologically rich areas in the United States. At Point Reyes, Muldoon led historic investments and improvements to park infrastructure and built and strengthened relationships with local communities and elected officials to find commonsense solutions to managing the park’s complex array of resources, from designated wilderness to historic dairy farms.
Before her appointment at Point Reyes, Muldoon served for five years as a NPS deputy regional director based in San Francisco where she oversaw partnerships, visitor and resource protection, interpretation and education, wildland and structural fire and safety programs across the region. She also provided direct oversight of 10 parks including Death Valley, Joshua Tree and Lake Mead. Before serving as a regional official, Muldoon was the superintendent at Pinnacles National Park and earlier at San Juan Island National Historical Park.
A California native, Muldoon holds a Bachelor of Science in zoology from the University of California, Davis. She officially begins her new role on November 8.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 421 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.