A new supervisor has been named for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.
The selection of Wendy Berhman as the new superintendent was announced by National Park Service Acting Regional Director Kate Hammond.
Berhman succeeds Kris Kirby, who served in the position for six years before accepting a position as associate state director for the Bureau of Land Management Wyoming State Office, the NPS said.
Besides Oak Ridge, the three-site national park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The three sites were part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. The park was established in 2015, and it is administered through a collaborative partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.
A press release said Berhman has worked for the National Park Service for more than 30 years, most recently as program planner for the NPS Washington Office. She began her new assignment on December 5.
“Wendy has vast experience working with both long-range and strategic planning,” Hammond said. “Her commitment to stakeholder and employee engagement and partnerships, her expertise in visitor use management and tourism, and her passion for the Manhattan Project story will be excellent assets in the park’s next chapter.”
Berhman, who lives in Denver with her family, is responsible for the daily operations and staff at each of the three park sites. The park preserves and interprets the nationally significant historic sites, stories, and legacies associated with the top-secret race to develop an atomic weapon during World War II.  Â
“I am honored to have been selected as the Manhattan Project National Historical Park superintendent,” Berhman said in the press release. “The legacy of the Manhattan Project is both enormous and complex, and I look forward to working in partnership with the Department of Energy to administer the park. I am excited to work with the park team, Tribes, local communities, and partners to enhance the visitor experience by expanding park programming to share underrepresented narratives and history and expand local and regional tourism opportunities.”
Berhman has served as a planner in the NPS Washington Office of Park Planning and Special Studies for the last 11 years, the press release said. She has previously worked in facilities, construction management, commercial services, and planning at the national, regional, and park levels. She earned a master’s degree in urban and environmental planning from University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in architecture (historic preservation emphasis) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the press release said.
For information about the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, visit www.nps.gov/mapr.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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