Chief Executive Officer
Asheville, N.C.
Carolyn Ward, Ph.D., serves as the CEO of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the primary philanthropic partner to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Carolyn was born and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southwest Virginia. After graduating from Emory and Henry College, she found her passion as a seasonal park interpreter at Hungry Mother State Park in Marion, Virginia. Following that love for the outdoors and her passion for teaching and learning, she completed her Master’s and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in Forestry. From there, she traveled to northern California, where she worked as a professor for 12 years. E-mail Carolyn or call her at (866) 308-2773.