NPS announces next Big Bend National Park superintendent

By Samantha Latson | 05/07/2024 01:14 PM EDT

Anjna O’Connor has been working for the Army Corps of Engineers.

Rafts piloted by guides emerge from Heath Canyon, carved by the Rio Grande through Big Bend National Park, Texas.

Rafts piloted by guides emerge from Heath Canyon, carved by the Rio Grande through Big Bend National Park, Texas. Michael Graczyk/AP

Big Bend National Park announced Tuesday that Anjna O’Connor will be the next superintendent of the park that spans over 1,200 square miles.

O’Connor is a supervisory program manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, where she supervises infrastructure construction projects for U.S. Border Patrol. In the past, she has worked as a deputy district engineer, operations project manager, environmental specialist, recreation specialist and park ranger.

She is no stranger to Texas. O’Connor led a team that managed the Army Corps campgrounds and day use areas in central Texas, which are visited by 6 million people annually. She also directed “complex large-scale projects” to include hospital construction at Fort Cavazos in Texas and infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, according to a news release.

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Deputy Regional Director Lance Hatten in the release praised O’Connor for her “record of success.”

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