Title: Administrative Officer
Company: (DOI, NPS) Booker T. Washington National Monument
Location: Hardy, VA
Education: GED; High School Diploma, William Fleming High School
Career History: Administrative Officer, Department Of Interior, National Park Service, Booker T. Washington National Monument, (2011-Present);
Administrative Support Assistant, National Park Service (1991-2011);
Park Ranger, National Park Service (1987-1990)
Connie Mays, Administrative Officer of the (DOI, NPS) Booker T. Washington National Monument , has been recognized as a Marquis Emerging Leader for their contributions and achievements in the field of administrative tasks.
As the Administrative Officer, Ms. Mays roles and responsibilities focus on advising administrative matters in the park and in guiding management and staff of the park toward effective management of the park’s business. She has the responsibility of budget and financial management; human resource management; acquisition and property management; information management; and administrative services (an array of services required to support the programs and staff of the park). In addition, she serves as a park safety officer, and is responsible for IT within the park, which consists of a server, printers, mail meter, laptops, and desktops. Ms. Mays also provides back-up to the interpretative division with interpreting the park story, and visitor center operations.
Early in her career, Ms. Mays garnered experience as a park ranger for the National Park Service between 1987 to 1990. In 1991, she accepted a position as an administrative support assistant from the National Park Service and remained in this role until coming to her current position. Since 2011, she has served as an administrative officer for the Department of Interior with the National Park Service at the Booker T. Washington National Monument. Throughout her career, Ms. Mays has received a number of accolades including receiving the Exemplary Act Award in the Northeast Region, National Park Service in 1991, the Most Sales Award in the Northeast Region from the Eastern National Park and Monument Association with the National Park Service in 1989. Furthermore, she has been the recipient of several safety awards.
Ms. Mays became involved in her profession because she wanted to go into fish and wildlife, and first became good friend with some of the park rangers and maintenance employees. They convinced her to join them and start working seasonally and she did. She loved being able to protect the land for future generations. Ms. Mays’s most notable achievement would be saving the lives of two individuals. She saved the life of a pregnant woman who had several seizures and hemorrhages. Her actions during this time lead to her becoming the first female within the Northeast Region to receive the Exemplary Act Award in 1991. Ms. Mays lives by the motto; “Just keep going. There’s always another hill to climb and she looks forward to those challenges.”