The Art Box - Episode 42 - Meet Sue Fritzke

The Art Box recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sue Fritzke superintendent of Capitol Reef NP in Utah. Steve had the pleasure of serving as the 2022 Artist in Residence at Capitol Reef under Sue's direction and we lucked out having Sue as a gest. Sue, a 38-year veteran of the Park Service, tells us about growing up in a family that focused on nature and our public lands. At one time she was deputy superintendent for four Northern California parks, all in the East Bay: Eugene O’Neill and John Muir National Historic Sites, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, and Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. We hone in on some great Rosie the Riveter stories, red back packs, orchards, climate change, art, floods, her dislike of the color red and her passion for the Artist in Residence Program. A natural resources professional by training and experience, Sue began her NPS career in 1985 as an interpretation ranger at Yosemite National Park. She also served at Mount Rainier National Park before moving into biological science, prescribed fire and vegetation ecology posts for the next 11 years at Yosemite and then Redwood National and State Parks. Sue next served as supervisory resources manager at Yosemite (1998-2003) before moving to the Bay Area to be branch chief for vegetation management at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument and Fort Point National Historical Park (2003-2011). Since 2015, she has been a participant in the NPS Superintendents’ Leadership Roundtable. She earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and physical geography from UC-Santa Barbara and her master’s in physical geography and plant ecology from Oregon State University in Corvallis. A master gardener, Fritzke also taught a course in park horticulture at West Valley Community College in Saratoga, CA. Join us for a fun chat with an amazing human.