Park Superintendent Says Engaging Community A Key Part Of Job

By Sara Kirkpatrick | Virgin Islands Daily News |

Penelope Del Bene’s career has taken her to many places, Oregon, Wyoming, Alaska, Florida and now the U.S. Virgin Islands as the new V.I. National Park superintendent.

No matter where her career has taken her, she finds the focus should be on a community’s most important cultural resource, the people.

“That is going to be one of my main objectives here at the Park, to engage with the community on a regular basis and listen to the community,” Del Bene told The Daily News on Monday.

She officially started as park superintendent earlier this month.

Del Bene is from Santa Monica, Southern California, and says she’s always felt at home along the coast, near water.

During her career she has worked for three federal agencies, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.

She noted that the National Park Service’s mission, to preserve natural and cultural resources for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations, speaks to her personally.

“My focus and my whole career has been in archeology and anthropology, working with culture resources, working with various folks who have a tie to the history, and deep connection to the cultural resources,” Del Bene said.

During her 19 years of federal experience, she worked in a variety of roles, including as an archeologist, cultural resource specialist and tribal liaison.

While working closely with indigenous communities, she learned the value of building relationships and trust with a community.

“I think that you need to be available, you need to be an honest broker,” Del Bene said. “Being honest and upfront with folks is very important to build that trust.”

One way Del Bene has strengthened these relationships is by inviting community members and stakeholders to the table early on when there are proposed projects.

“Sometimes there is a compelling reason, where it [a project] has to move forward, and you need to explain why it needs to move forward,” Del Bene said. “But there are times where you need to say no, you’ve provided me with a very good reason why this shouldn’t move forward, and I have the ability to say no to this particular project.”

She added, “That’s why it’s really important early on in the process, before you invest too much time and money and effort, to get the input from folks who are culturally connected to the landscape, to the resources, and get their feedback early on.”

From September to December of 2023, Del Bene served as acting superintendent for the V.I. National Park.

“Through my four months here it was clear to me that we could be doing a better job,” Del Bene said. “I was able to engage with a variety of community members, stakeholders, and a lot of folks let me know how they feel about the Park Service, and what the Park Service could be doing differently.”

She attended a town hall meeting held by V.I. Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, where she heard directly from community members.

“There’s a variety of ways in which we could communicate that we are holding meetings. I think that’s the take home message I got,” Del Bene said. “We are not doing a good enough job saying here is when we are having a meeting so everybody can participate.”

Del Bene listed a number of topics that she wishes to address in her new role, including land ownership, access to property holdings within the park, and parking along the North Shore beaches and in Cruz Bay.

“The Park wants to meet with folks and have meaningful discussions about the concerns that have been raised and listen to folks,” Del Bene said.

She noted that the Park Service will be redesigning their maintenance facility, which acts as an important communications hub for residents during storm events.

“We are engaged in early design work on the maintenance facility here in town, to improve that facility and it will be pretty much a complete redesign,” Del Bene said. “We want to ensure that it is a good structure and that it will survive a storm, and that it will have the ability to serve in that role as it has in the past.”

As superintendent, she said her responsibility is taking care of the V.I. National Park team, as they are critical in ensuring the park functions.

“It is the lead position, but I’ve always viewed the superintendent as a position that is serving the community and serving the team here at the park,” she said.

She noted that over the next year the Park will be advertising available positions, and encourages Virgin Islanders to apply.

“Please come and talk to any of us, we will share what those opportunities entail, we would welcome people from the community to apply to positions here at the National Park,” Del Bene said.

Del Bene is joining the St. John community with her husband, Terry, and their two rescue dogs, Biscayne and Sammy. Both dogs were found abandoned at Biscayne National Park in South Florida.

When it comes to what makes the V.I. National Park stand out among so many others, Del Bene says it’s the people.

“The people of St. John are some of the most welcoming, friendly, lovely people,” she said. “It’s the marine life, the beaches and it’s the people that are all very special.”