Director’s Award for Excellence

2024 Winter Ceremony Digital Program

Location: Washington, D.C., and livestreamed on DOI.gov/events

About the Awards

Each year, the National Park Service honors exemplary work conducted in natural and cultural resource stewardship and facilities management. These awards recognize employees who go above and beyond day-to-day duties to solve problems or create new opportunities or projects with creative thinking and action.

In the 2024 ceremony, the National Park Service recognizes individuals awarded in the 2022 and 2023 calendar years.

Use this digital program to learn more about today’s program and its honorees and speakers below.

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Programming Schedule

Welcome to Attendees

Remarks from Keynote Speaker, National Park Service Director Charles F. Sams III

Conferment of Awards

• Introduction and read out of the 2022 & 2023 Natural Resource Awards by Associate Director Ray Sauvajot, Ceremony Host Tracy O’Toole

• Introduction and read out of the 2022 & 2023 Cultural Resource Awards by Associate Director Joy Beasley, Ceremony Host Tracy O’Toole

• Introduction and read out of the Parks Planning and Facilities Awards by Associate Director Mike Caldwell, Ceremony Host Tracy O’Toole

Ceremony Conclusion

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Learn More About the Award Winners

2022 Natural & Cultural Awards

2023 Natural & Cultural Awards

2023 Facilities Management Awards

Director Charles F. Sams III

Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III was ceremonially sworn in as the 19th director of the National Park Service on Dec. 16, 2021, by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Sams is Cayuse and Walla Walla and is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Northeast Oregon, where he grew up. He also has blood ties to the Cocopah Tribe and Yankton Sioux of Fort Peck.

Sams most recently served as Oregon Governor Kate Brown's appointee to the Pacific Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NW Council) where he held a position as a council member from March to December of 2021. Prior to joining the NW Council, he served as executive director for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

For 30 years, Sams has worked in tribal and state government, and in the non-profit natural resource and conservation management field, with an emphasis on the responsibility of strong stewardship for land preservation for this and future generations.

Sams is a veteran of the U.S. Navy where he served as an intelligence specialist. He holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Concordia University and a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma School of Law. He lives with his wife, Lori Lynn (Reinecke) Sams and their youngest daughter in Alexandria, VA.

Ceremony Host Tracy O’Toole

For more than twenty years, Tracy has worked in the fields of community engagement and international affairs to support public land management, heritage tourism and visitor experiences. She currently oversees the National Heritage Area System serving 62 sites throughout the country. Previously, she led the NPS Northeast regional communications, tourism, philanthropic partnerships and congressional affairs programs for 84 park sites.

Her work seeks to develop strategic communications, elevate successes and leverage partnership initiatives to build greater awareness of national parks and systems. She has also worked on extensively on conservation and economic development initiatives in the Pacific Northwest and ecotourism development through Latin America and the Middle East.

Associate Director Ray Sauvajot

Ray serves as Associate Director for Natural Resource Stewardship Science (NRSS) for the NPS, where he provides leadership and direction for NPS natural resource management and science programs. As Associate Director, he oversees national programs in biology, air and water resources, climate change response, geology, natural sounds and night skies, environmental quality and compliance (including NEPA), ecological inventory and monitoring, and science communication. He's especially honored to work with an amazing team of scientists, policy experts, planners, program managers, administrators, and technicians at offices in Washington, D.C., Colorado, and other locations to help advance the incredible mission of the NPS.

Ray's personal interests include family outings, gardening, hiking, camping, and travel (when he can find time!). He also stays busy helping care for a menagerie that includes two dogs, one cat, chickens, lizards, and countless fish, shrimp, and aquatic snails. Ray's interests in national parks and science grew out of his fascination with nature for as long as he can remember, and family vacations and camping trips they took to parks across the West.

Associate Director Joy Beasley

Joy Beasley has served as the Associate Director for Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science since 2017, first in an acting capacity and assuming the permanent position in August 2020. She is the senior NPS official responsible for guiding a preservation program supporting the work of the national parks as well as heritage resources throughout the nation. Her responsibilities include providing parks and regional offices with policy and technical guidance for the management of more than 82,000 identified archeological sites, 26,000 historic structures, 400 ethnographic resources, 50.4 million museum objects, 85,719 linear feet of NPS archives, and nearly 900 documented cultural landscapes. Ms. Beasley also serves as the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, representing more than 1.8 million buildings, structures, sites, and objects; advises the Secretary of the Interior on designation of National Historic Landmarks (2,598); and manages over 1,000 active grants awards totaling more than $370 million annually. Ms. Beasley oversees the Historic Tax Credit program, which results in billions of dollars annually in investments in the rehabilitation of privately-owned historic structures, and administers the Secretary of the Interior's responsibilities under the National Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

Associate Director Mike Caldwell

Mike Caldwell has dedicated over 30 years to the National Park Service (NPS), where he currently serves as the Associate Director of Park Planning, Facilities, and Lands. Throughout his career, Mike has held various leadership roles, including Associate Director, Deputy Associate Director-Chief of Staff, Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director-Chief of Staff, Associate Regional Director, and nearly 15 years as a field leader in Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent positions. In these roles, Mike navigated many organizational challenges, always driven by a results-oriented approach and a deep commitment to his team. His leadership has helped the NPS achieve significant milestones.

With a strong focus on supervision and leadership, Mike has built a reputation for setting a clear vision, forging lasting partnerships, repairing strained alliances, and mentoring employees to lead the NPS into the future. He is a graduate of the Department of the Interior's Senior Executive Service (SES) Candidate Development Program, and his achievements have earned him the DOI Superior Service Citation and the Stephen T. Mather Award from the National Parks Conservation Association.

Mike has also been honored by various communities where he served as Superintendent, including receiving the Rome Historical Society’s Medal of the Order of 1777 (2003), the Mohawk Valley Accent on Excellence Award (2003), recognition as a top under-40 leader in the Philadelphia region (2008), and the Excellence in Public Service award from the Greater Valley Forge Chamber of Commerce (2009).

Questions?

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