August 31, 2023, was Liz Davis’s last day as Chief of Interpretation and Education for Assateague Island National Seashore. She retired from the National Park Service after a 32-year career, all of it spent on Assateague. Liz was, I believe, the first person I contacted when I started thinking about this podcast, and she has been a steady and helpful friend of the show ever since.
Liz sat down with me recently and took a look back at a career that spans half the park’s existence. We covered a lot of topics, from migrating birds to the pandemic, in a sometimes emotional conversation that I’m sure barely scratched the surface of a lifetime of Assateague experiences.
I also spoke with Hugh Hawthorne, who is the superintendent of Assateague Island National Seashore, and asked for his thoughts on Liz’s retirement—and what the new Interp Chief can expect.
Liz’s retirement is going to leave a practically unfillable hole for the National Seashore, at least in the short term. In the long term… She’s got all the nation’s parks to explore.
Here’s our episode.