Armando Quintero, Director

Director Armando Quintero

California Department of Parks and Recreation


Armando Quintero was named director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation on Aug. 18, 2020.

An experienced parks professional with expertise in park operations, outdoor education, equity and access, and diversity and inclusion in hiring and retention, Quintero has a degree in environmental science and biology. He was executive director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at the University of California (UC), Merced, from 2014 to 2020, and served as director of development at UC Merced from 2008 to 2014. He was an elected member of the Marin Municipal Water District from 2008 to 2020. In 2014 he was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as a member of the California Water Commission and served as chair of that Commission from 2015 to 2020.

Quintero held multiple positions at the National Park Service (NPS) from 1976 to 1998, including chief of the Special Park Uses Group and district ranger at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, personnel staffing specialist for NPS, park ranger and supervisory park ranger at the Point Reyes National Seashore, and park ranger at the Sequoia National Park and at the John Muir National Historic Site.

Following his career at the NPS, he was an independent environmental educator and trip leader for a decade, from 1998 to 2008.

Armando Quintero, Director, California State Parks