GETTYSBURG, PA – Kristina Heister, the Deputy Superintendent at Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) and Eisenhower National Historic Site (NHS), will serve as Acting Superintendent, for a period of 120 days that began on November 5. Heister will step into this leadership role as former Superintendent Steve Sims begins his new assignment as Superintendent of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Heister, a 31-year National Park Service (NPS) employee, is an experienced manager that previously served as the Superintendent of Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and as Chief of Natural Resources for the NPS Northeast Region. She serves as a key leader on the park’s management team and provides oversight for all aspects of park operations. She also served as the Acting Superintendent of Gettysburg NMP and Eisenhower NHS in 2019.
Zach Bolitho will serve as Acting Deputy Superintendent for a period of 120 days that began on November 5. Zach has worked at Gettysburg NMP and Eisenhower NHS since 2011 as the Chief of Resources Stewardship and Planning where he coordinates and develops preservation programs and planning initiatives. He’s worked for the NPS for 24 years serving in the resource stewardship offices at several premiere cultural resource’s sites throughout the country. Bolitho started his career with the NPS as a Student Conservation Association intern at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho. He holds a B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources and a M.S. in Environmental Biology. His civil service began as a Rural Training Instructor with the United States Peace Corps in the Solomon Islands, South Pacific.
Gettysburg National Military Park preserves, protects, and interprets for this and future generations the resources associated with the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, during the American Civil War, the Soldiers' National Cemetery, and their commemorations. Learn more at www.nps.gov/gett.
Eisenhower National Historic Site preserves and interprets the home and farms of the Eisenhower family as a fitting and enduring memorial to the life, work, and times of General Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, and to the events of far-reaching importance that occurred on the property. Learn more at www.nps.gov/eise.