FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Denis P. Galvin joined the National Park Service in 1963 as a civil engineer (B.S. Northeastern University) at Sequoia National Park, Calif., after completing a two-year Peace Corps assignment in Tanzania, East Africa. Subsequent assignments saw Mr. Galvin serve as an engineer at Mount Rainier National Park, Wash.; in the Park Services’ Southwest Regional Office, based in Santa Fe, NM; as a training specialist at the agency’s Horace M. Albright Training Center in Grand Canyon, Ariz.; and, as a management assistant at the New York District Office, overseeing park operations for units in New York and New Jersey.
In 1974 when a new NPS Regional Office was opened in Boston, Mr. Galvin became Associate Regional Director for Operations; two years later, he became Deputy Director for that region. From that post, he transferred to Denver, Col., in 1978 where he was manager of the Denver Service Center. That office oversees most of the agency’s planning, design and construction program. In 1985, he was selected as Deputy Director of the National Park Service.
Mr. Galvin returned to planning, design and construction in 1989 when he was named Associate Director for Planning and Development. That position also included policy, information management and land acquisition programs. In September 1997, he accepted a re-assignment to Deputy Director. Mr. Galvin retired from the National Park Service in January, 2002. He is currently a Trustee of the National Parks Conservation Association and a Commissioner of the Second Century Commission, a group of nearly 30 diverse and distinguished Americans charged with developing a 21st century vision for our National Parks.
He received numerous awards throughout his career. In 1991 he was honored with the Pugsley Medal for outstanding service to parks and conservation. In 2001 he was given a Presidential Rank Award for exceptional achievement in the career Senior Executive Service.