Alberti named superintendent of Saipan, Guam parks

Barbara Alberti, an 18-year veteran of the National Park Service, is the newly appointed superintendent at the American Memorial Park on Saipan and the War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam, the two NPS units located west of the International Dateline and closest to Japan.

Alberti follows Sarah Creachbaum, who recently transferred from the superintendency in Guam to superintendent of Haleakala National Park on Maui, Hawaii. An interim superintendent, Steve Gibbons, is serving as acting superintendent until Alberti arrives in Guam in the early summer.

“I am impressed with Barbara’s collaborative and resource management skills,” said NPS regional director Jonathan B. Jarvis, in making the appointment.

War in the Pacific National Historical Park and the American Memorial Park recognize American actions in the northern Pacific Theater during World War II. These two areas, located on islands 120 miles apart, also shelter coral reefs and marine life. Guam is a territory of the United States. Saipan is part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. Both park areas also are part of the educational role identified in the new World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.

“I look forward to working with the well-respected park staff and many park friends and neighbors on these two islands,” said Alberti.

Alberti is the chief of natural resources and fire management at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area outside of Redding, in the upper Sacramento Valley of California. In this capacity, she has coordinated planning programs and collaborated on resource management and science based decision making. She also has served as chief of interpretation in the park, a position that directs the educational and outreach rangers and programs at the park.

Whiskeytown, in the heart of gold rush country, preserves the cultural history of early gold mining along side the modern engineering of the Central Valley water project. Whiskeytown Lake is surrounded by remnant old growth forests, numerous trails, and beaches making it a popular destination for local outdoor enthusiasts.

Alberti served at Coronado National Memorial in southern Arizona for 14 years in several capacities including park ranger, integrated resources manager and as acting superintendent.

She also has worked on special projects for the NPS at Redwood and Grand Canyon National Parks and is a 2007 graduate of the Mid_Level Management Development Program.

Alberti served as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Senegal as a natural resources extension agent. She collaborated with a German aid organization promoting cashew plantations in small villages to provide a cash crop from the nuts and improve nutrition with the cashew “apples.”

Having a natural aptitude for languages, she speaks Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Wolof. She has published a number of biological monographs and papers. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]