Hartzog Award Recipients Since 1994

Previous Award Winners By Year

2022 | 2021 | 2020 |  2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1994

Previous Winners By Award

Read more about each individual by clicking on the year above that the award was given.

The Benton H. Box Award

• 2022 - Dr. Eric Dinerstein, Director of WildTech at RESOLVE and co-developer of TrailGaurd AI
• 2021 - Joel Berger, world-renowned conservationist, author and wildlife conservation chair in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University
• 2020 - Kelly S. Bricker, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Utah and John W. Day Jr., Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, and College of the Coast and Environment at Louisiana State University
• 2019 - Dr. Ryan L. Sharp, Assistant Professor of Park Management and Conservation at Kansas State University, and Dr. Stephen C. Trombulak, Professor Emeritus of Biology and Biosphere Studies at Middlebury College
• 2018 - Stephen F. McCool, Usiversity of Montana College of Forestry and Conservation, Department of Society and Conservation, Professor Emeritus, Wildland Recreation Management
• 2017 - Dr. Troy Hall, Head of Forest Ecosystems and Society Department at Oregon State University 
• 2016 - Dr. Wayne Freimund, Professor and Chair, Park, Tourism and Recreation Management
• 2015 - Dr. Julian Agyeman, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University
• 2014 - Dr. John Seidensticker, Head of Conservation Ecology Center of Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; Dr. Susan Lumpkin, Senior Writer/ Editor of the Global Tiger Initiative
• 2013 - Dr. Lee M. Talbot, Professor, Environmental Science and Policy Department, George Mason University
• 2012 - Dr. Reed F. Noss, Provost’s Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Central Florida and President of the Florida Institute for Conservation Science
• 2011 - Lawrence "Larry" Zehnder, Administrator, City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department
• 2010 - Dr. Robert E. Manning, Professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont
• 2009 - Stephen R. Kellert, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Tweedy Ordway Professor of Social Ecology
• 2008 - Joseph W. Roggenbuck, Virginia Tech, Natural Resource Recreation, Department of Forestry, Professor Emeritus, Retired
• 2007 - Robert B. Ditton, Texas A&M University, Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Professor, Retired
• 2006 - Myron F. Floyd, North Carolina State University, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Professor
• 2004 - David Tonkyn, Tigers for Tigers Initiative, Clemson University, Faculty Advisor
• 2001 - Donald Field, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Departments of Forest Ecology and Management and Rural Sociology, Professor
• 2000 - Beverly L. Driver, USDA Forest Service, Retired
• 1998 - David W. Lime, National Park Service, Cooperative Park Studies Unit, University of Minnesota,  Unit Leader
• 1997 - C. Thomas Wyche, Developer - Natureland Trust (Mountain Bridge)
• 1995 - Rabel J. Burdge, University of Illinois, Institute for Environmental Studies, Environmental Studies, Rural Sociology, Leisure Studies and Urban and Regional Planning, Professor
• 1994 - David W. Orr, Oberlin College, Ohio, Environmental Studies and Politics / Environmental Studies Program, Professor / Chair

The William C. Everhart Award

• 2022 - Katie Bliss, Deputy Division Manager of Training, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• 2021 - Marc J. Stern, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech
• 2019 - Dr. Carolyn Ward, CEO, Blue Ridge Parkway
• 2018 - Nicole M. Ardoin, Stanford University, Associate Professor
• 2016 - Julia Washburn, National Park Service Associate Director for Interpretation, Education, and Volumneets
• 2015 - Judy Braus, Executive Director of the North American Association for Environmental Education
• 2014 - Dr. Martha Monroe, Professor, University of Florida's School of Forest Resources and Conservation
• 2011 - David Larsen, in Memoriam - Interpretation and Education Training Manager for the Stephen F. Mather Training Center in Harpers Ferry, WV.
• 2010 - Shelton A. Johnson, Interpretive Ranger, Yosemite National Park
• 2009 - Dayton Duncan, Award-winning Writer and Documentary Filmmaker
• 2008 - Tim Merriman, National Association for Interpretation (NAI), Executive Director
• 2007 - Sam H. Ham, University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources, Dept. of Conservation Social Sciences (Center for International Training and Outreach/Communication Psycology and International Conservation), Director/Professor
• 2006 - Michael D. Watson, Mather Training Center, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Superintendent
• 2005 - Ted T. Cable Kansa State University, Park Management and Conservation, Asst. Department Head and Professor
• 2004 - James Mičulká, Amtrak/National Park Service Partnership Program, National Coordinator
• 2003 - Michael A. Allen, National Park Service, Fort Sumter National Monument, Fort Moutrie and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, Education Specialist
• 2002 - Barbara Tagger, National Park Service, Southeast Region, Division of Interpretation and Visitor Services, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, Program Historian and Regional Coordinator
• 2001 - Rudy Mancke, NatureScene
• 2000 - Gerald J. Coutant, US Forest Service, Washington Office Branch, Chief for Interpretive Services
• 1998 - William C. Everhart, National Park Service, Harper's Ferry Center, Assistant to the Director for Policy
• 1996 - H. Jesse Grove, Clemson University, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Professor, Deceased
• 1995 - Max Oelschlaeger, University of North Texas, Philosophy and Religion Studies, Professor
• 1994 - Ms. Pat Rose, Santa Barbara Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest, Recreation Technician

The Walter T. Cox Award

• 2021 - Cassius Cash, Superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• 2020 - Kerri Cahill, Ph.D., Branch Chief of the National Park Service’s Denver Service Center Planning Division
• 2019 - David Vela, Deputy Director exercising the authority of the Director, National Park Service
• 2018 - Stan Austin, National Park Service, Regional Director, Pacific West Region
• 2017 - Dave Hallac, Superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial 
• 2016 - Anne Springs Close, Chair, Springs Close Foundation / environmentalist and philanthropist
• 2015 - Brad Wyche, Executive Director at Upstate Forever
• 2014 - Dave Harmon, Executive Director of the George Wright Society
• 2013 - Phil Francis, Retired, National Park Service; Phil Gaines, Director, South Carolina State Park
• 2012 - Dan Wenk, Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park
• 2011 - Jonathan "Jon" B. Jarvis, 18th Director of National Park Service
• 2010 - Not given this year
• 2009 - Will LaPage, NAI Certified Interpretive, Guide and Trainer  
• 2008 - Mary A. Bomar, 17th Director of National Park Service
• 2007 - Richard Louv, Author of seven books 
• 2006 - Ronald H. Walker, Korn/Ferry International, Senior Partner  
• 2005 - Van Stickles, South Carolina State Park Service, Director, Retired
• 2004 - Robert M. Utley, National Park Service, Retired, research and writing - specialty American West
• 2004 - William E. Brown, National Park Service, Alaska Region, Chief of Cultural Resources and Regional Historian, Retired
• 2003 - Dr. Margaret "Gina" McLellan, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Clemson University, Associate Professor, Retired
• 2002 - Fran P. Mainella, 16th Director of National Park Service
• 2001 - H. Roger Hamilton, US Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Chief of Resource Analysis  
• 1998 - Gary Everhardt, National Park Service, Superintendent  
• 1997 - Robert G. Stanton, 15th Director of National Park Service
• 1996 - Henry L. Diamond, Beveridge & Diamond Law Firm and Patrick F. Noonan Conservation Fund / American Farmland Trust / Ashland Inc. and International Paper Founder and Chairman / Founder / Director
• 1994 - Mario Boza, Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Project / National Park System of Costa Rica Director / Founder

The Fran P. Mainella Award

• 2021 - Linda Lanterman, State Parks Director for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
• 2019 - Chris Lehnertz, President & CEO, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy 
• 2017 - Sarah Milligan-Toffler, Executive Director of the Children & Nature Network 
• 2015 - Priscilla E. Geigis, Director of the Massachusetts Division of State Parks and Recreation
• 2013 - Mary Gibson Scott, Retired Superintendent, Grand Teton National Park,
• 2012 - Given in alternate years
• 2011 - Co-recipients: Ruth Coleman, Director of California State Parks & Becky Kelly, Director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites Division
• 2010 - Given in alternate years
• 2009 - Margaret "Peggy" Odell, National Park Service Regional Director, National Capital Region
• 2007 - Gayle Hazelwood, National Capital Parks - East, Washington, DC, Superintendent
• 2005 - Martha Bogle, Congaree National Park, Superintendent
• 2003 - Laura Rotegard, Blue Ridge Parkway, Management Assistant to the Superintendent

The Robert G. Stanton Award

• 2022 - Alan Spears, Senior Director for Cultural Resources at the National Parks Conservation Association
• 2020 - George McDonald, Chief Director of Youth Programs at the National Park Service (NPS)
• 2018 - Brent Leggs, Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
• 2016 - Dr. Lavelle Merritt, Jr., National Park Service, Program Manager, ProRanger Program at Texas A&M University
• 2014 - Dr. Michael A. Allen, Community Partnership Specialist for The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor/ Fort Sumter National Monument and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
• 2013 - Given in alternate years
• 2012 - David Vela, Southeast Regional Director, National Park Service
• 2011 - Given in alternate years
• 2010 - Dr. Antoinette Lee, Assistant Associate Director, Historical Documentation Programs, National Park Service
• 2008 - Ernest Quintana, National Park Service, Midwest Regional Director
• 2006 - Joel A. Tutein, Christianstead National Historic Site, Buck Island Reef National Monument and Salt River National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Superintendent
• 2004 - Charles R. Jordan, The Conservation Fund, Director

The Dwight A. Holder Award

• 2022 - Dr. Maria Whitehead - Vice President and Director of Land (Southeast) at Open Space Institute
• 2021 - Adam Beeco, Ph.D., Program Manager of Policy, Planning and Compliance in the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division (NSNSD) of the National Parks Service
• 2020 - Paul Leonard, Ph.D., Science Coordinator for the Arctic Program of the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Fairbanks, Alaska
• 2019 - Dr. Jennifer Thomsen, Assistant Professor of Park, Recreation and Tourism Management, University of Montana
• 2018 - Lauren S. Pile, USDA Forest Service, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station in Columbia, Missouri
• 2017 - Dr. Jeffrey Skibins, Assistant Professor of Park Management and Conservation at Kansas State University 
• 2016 - Dr. Keenan Adams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division Chief, Biological Resources for the Mountain Prairie Region
• 2015 - Dr. Wade Vagias, Management Assistant to the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park
• 2014 - Dr. Karen Waldrop, Deputy Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
• 2011 - Dr. Margaret "Gina" McLellan, Faculty Emeritus, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University
• 2006 - Dr. Rudolph M. Schuster, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Forest and Natural Resource Management, Assistant Professor  
• 2003 - Dr. Kathy Mengak, Lives in Athens, GA; writing a book with Robert Utley on George Hartzog
• 2002 - Dr. Colmore S. Christian, Government of Dominica, Ministry of Tourism Industry and Enterprise Development, Permanent Secretary  
• 1997 - Dr. Robert D. Bixler, Clemson University - Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Assistant Professor  
• 1996 - Dr. Ingrid E. Schneider, University of Minnesota, Associate Professor  and  Dr. William E. Hammitt, Clemson University - Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Professor
• 1995 - Dr. M. Grant Cunningham, Clemson University, Department of Planning & Landscape Architecture, Associate Professor  
• 1994 - Dr. C. Scott Shafer, Texas A&M University, Associate Professor

The Institute for Parks Distinguished Service Award

• 2021 - Robert F. Orr - Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Insitute for Parks
• 2021 - Harold E. Cheatham, Ph.D., Director of University Counseling at Case Western Reserve University
• 2021 - Harrison F. "Hack" Trammel, chief executive of the Clemson University Foundation
• 2016 - Ronald H. Walker, Inaugural Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Parks at Clemson University; Senior Partner, Korn/Ferry International, the World's largest Executive Search Firm