Karen Arey has been with the National Park ServiceĀ sinceĀ graduatingĀ college.Ā Instead ofĀ workingĀ at one specific park, Karen brought her training as a landscape architect to the Denver Service Center, NPSā central hub for allĀ ofĀ its planning, design, and construction management.Ā 30 years after first arriving there, Karen is now a project manager in the transportation divisionĀ and duty stationed to the Washington, DC area.
AsĀ aĀ project manager, KarenĀ assists parks in āevaluatingĀ and making a determination as to how they want to treat their roads.āĀ Most recently, Karen was involvedĀ in the 2018-2020Ā rehabilitation of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, a two-year, $227 million projectĀ that was one of the largest transportation projects in park service history.Ā As part of thisĀ effortĀ to restore what is considered the ceremonial entrance to Washington, D.C., Karen was responsible forĀ coordinatingĀ with officials from both the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration to ensure that the bridge projectĀ stayedĀ on schedule whileĀ remainingĀ open to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Arlington Memorial Bridge
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FHWA / Ben Dixon
Prior toĀ joiningĀ the transportation division, KarenĀ wasĀ in the construction division where she was fortunate to work as project supervisor onĀ several other monumental assignments in the Washington, D.C. area. These includeĀ theĀ construction of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the 1998-2000 restoration of the Washington Monument, and the 2015-2018Ā restorationĀ of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial.
These projects have given her some incredible life experiences, from touching the top of the Washington Monument to being able to stand at eye-level withĀ theĀ statues of the US MarinesĀ who are depictedĀ atĀ the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial.

U.S. Marine Corps Memorial
NPS Photo / Anthony DeYoung
Karen says sheās proud to work for the National Park Service because āIt has given me the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people and professionals.āĀ She also adds that āI am able to take my son to all of these parks and say to him,Ā āhey, your mom worked on this park.āĀ I can take him to the FDR Memorial and tell him,Ā āyour mom was on the project team that helped build this park,āĀ so Iām proud that Iāll leave this legacy.ā
Behind every national park is a team of ordinary people dedicated to maintaining the extraordinary. They maintain habitats, educate visitors, and preserve history. Theyāre volunteers, rangers, museum curators, engineers, architects, and more. Theyāre our Park Ambassadors ā linking us to these treasured places and all the stories they hold.Ā Send thanks to an NPS employeeĀ or volunteer today.Ā Ā Ā
The āNational Park AmbassadorsāĀ video series is produced by the National Park Foundation and its Find Your Park premier partnerĀ L.L.Bean, with additional support fromĀ The Coca-Cola Company.