Melissa Baker to become first female Virginia State Parks director

Melissa Baker will become the first female Virginia State Parks director in the system’s 83-year history, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday.

Baker comes from the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, where she served as director. She oversaw the state’s park system and administered grant programs. She has also worked for Montana State Parks and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in leadership positions. At the helm of Virginia State Parks, she will oversee 38 parks and more than 270 full-time employees starting in January.

“Director Baker is the right choice at the right time to lead Virginia’s renowned state parks,” Northam said in a statement. “Her management experience and extensive knowledge of state parks will be an invaluable asset as we work to enhance Virginia’s parks, preserve and protect our precious natural resources, and expand outdoor recreation opportunities in the commonwealth.” 

Baker earned a master’s degree in outdoor recreation management from Southern Illinois University and a doctorate in forestry, outdoor recreation management and protected area planning from the University of Montana. She also was a professor of forest recreation at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and taught parks, recreation and tourism classes at the University of Maine.

“I’m excited to work in Virginia’s diverse state parks that stretch from the Appalachian mountains to the Atlantic coast,” Baker said in a statement. “Virginia’s state parks team is known as one of the best in the country, and I can’t wait to join it. I look forward to writing the next chapter in its amazing history together.”

Virginia’s state parks yield $24 million in tax revenue annually, provide 3,800 jobs and have 10 million visitors each year.