Charles “Charlie” Sellars has been named superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park after more than a year as acting superintendent, park spokesperson Katie Liming announced in late February.
Raised in Clyde, North Carolina, Sellars became acting superintendent in January 2025 after former superintendent Cassius Cash resigned to become CEO and president of the Yosemite Conservancy in San Francisco.
Sellars began his federal career in 1985 as an engineering draftsman on the Blue Ridge Parkway, according to a statement from the independent non-profit organization Friends of the Smokies.
Over the next 40 years, he served as superintendent of Andersonville National Historic Site, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Gauley River National Recreation Area and Bluestone National Scenic River.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States, with more than 11.5 million recreation visits in 2025, according to park statistics.
