Cassius Cash, the superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is stepping down. Cash is moving on to become the president and CEO of the Yosemite Conservancy in San Francisco, California. Cash spent a decade at the helm of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and was the park’s first Black superintendent.

Cash, who was born in Tennessee, began his career as a wildlife biologist for the US Forest Service in 1991. He was with the USFS for nearly twenty years before taking a position with the National Park Service in 2010. Just four years later he was appointed to the top position at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

During his tenure, park visitation increased by 42%; the park, always very popular, is far and away the most-visited in the national park system. Cash oversaw a massive fundraising effort through the implementation of parking fees that helped address maintenance issues at the park. Cash helped plan for the park’s recovery from a devastating wildfire in 2016, the Chimney Tops fire, that ultimately killed more than a dozen people in and around the nearby town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Cash also founded the Smokies Hikes for Healing program. Started in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, the program is built around using hiking and outdoor recreation to faciliate discussions about ongoing racism, discrimination, and injustice. In 2022, the National Parks Conservation Association awarded Cash the Stephen Tyng Mather Award for his work in founding the hiking program. The award is in recognition of federal employees who risk their careers for the principles and practices of good stewardship of the national parks.

Cash replaces outgoing Yosemite Conservancy’s out CEO of nine years, Frank Dean.

“Being able to assist with the preservation of a national wonder like Yosemite National Park fills my cup of purpose in life and as a preservation professional,” Cash said.

“Cassius is a remarkable individual — passionate, hard-working, and very approachable. He has a deep understanding of what’s happening on the frontlines of our national parks,” said Yosemite Conservancy Board Chair Steve Ciesinski. “From the moment we met Cassius we were impressed. And the more we talked, the more confident we felt in his ability to lead Yosemite Conservancy in a second century of service to — and partnership with — in Yosemite National Park.”

Cash will remain at Great Smoky Mountains National Park until December, then start his new role at the Yosemite Conservancy in January, 2025.

The Yosemite Conservancy is a century-old nonprofit that supports Yosemite National Park, though is not affiliated with the park service.