Donald W.

Murphy Biography

Donald W. Murphy, the incoming Chief Executive Officer of the National Underground Railroad
Freedom Center, is the former deputy director of the National Park Service. He was appointed
deputy director of the National Park Service in September 2001 and assisted in managing 390
national park units covering approximately 84 million acres, more than 23,000 employees, and a
total budget of more than $2.3 billion. Murphy’s priorities with the Park Service focused on
preserving the nation’s treasured cultural resources and protecting wildlife and its habitats.

He served for seven years as the director of California State Parks, the nation’s largest and most
diverse state park system. He began his career as a California state park ranger, serving in
various capacities including the superintendent of the parks along the Big Sur coast where he
partnered with the Ventana Wilderness Sanctuary to (VWS) establish a bird banding and youth
education center at Andrew Molera State Park. Later, as director, he traveled to Alaska with the
VWS to collect eaglets to repopulate the Ventana Wilderness.

Murphy has extensive management experience with museums and cultural and historic sites. He
also was responsible for security at heavily visited national historic sites, including the Statute of
Liberty, Mt. Rushmore and Independence Hall. During his tenure at California State Parks,
Murphy managed the world-renowned California State Railroad Museum, the Hearst Castle State
historic Monument, and several other state museums.

Raised in Los Angeles, CA, Murphy earned a BA degree in Biology in 1975 at the University of
California, San Diego. After graduating he attended graduate school in physiology and
pharmacology at UC San Diego, where he served as a graduate research assistant at the world
renowned Salk Institute. He later transferred to UC Irvine where he worked on his Ph.D. until
hired as a ranger.

Murphy has served as president of the California State Park Rangers Association, the National
Association of Outdoor Recreation Liaison Officers, trustee and treasurer of the National Park
Conservation Association, and trustee of the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy, and
continues to serve on several other boards. Murphy also is a seminar moderator at the Aspen
Institute in Colorado, where he leads seminars on executive leadership and leading change.

Murphy is married to LaRena Romrell Murphy. They have six children; three boys and three
girls: Damien age 34, Kina age 33, Christopher age 32, Liv age 31, Timothy age 18 and Anna age
17. Murphy is a published poet and has authored a number of articles. Backpacking, writing, and
golf are among his hobbies. He has made regular appearances on CNN, CNBC, CSPAN and
MSNBC.

Don Murphy Bio-21907