Jonathan B. Jarvis is the 18th Director of the United States National Park Service, confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on September 25, 2009. He was serving as regional director for the Pacific West Region when, on July 10, 2009, President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 nominated Jarvis for the directorship following the resignation of Mary A. Bomar

Mary A. Bomar

Mary Amelia Bomar was the 17th Director of the National Park Service of the United States. Raised in Leicester, England, Bomar became a U.S. citizen in 1977. On September 5, 2006, she was nominated by George W. Bush as the Director of the National Park Service, succeeding Fran P. Mainella...

 on January 20, 2009, the day of President Obama's inauguration

Inauguration of Barack Obama

The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joe...

. A career civil servant, Jarvis has been with the service for over 30 years.

Prior to his work as regional director, Jarvis served for three years as the superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier National Park is a United States National Park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was one of the US's earliest National Parks, having been established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park contains...

 in Ashford, Washington

Ashford, Washington

Ashford is a census-designated place in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 217 as of the 2010 census. Located just a few miles west of the main entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, it features numerous shops and accommodations for visitors...

. He was superintendent of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a national monument and national preserve located in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho, U.S.A. It is along US 20 , between the small cities of Arco and Carey, at an average elevation of above sea level...

 in Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Service & Preserve

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southeastern Alaska. It was established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The park area is included in an International Biosphere Reserve and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site...

 in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 during the 1990s.

Jarvis graduated from The College of William & Mary, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi

Sigma Chi

Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...

fraternity, in 1975 with a degree in biology.