Curt Cornelssen

I spent most of my childhood summers traveling around the country with my family in a small travel trailer, visiting and camping in National and State Parks. This instilled in me a love for our parks and our nation’s rich history. Most of my career has been focused on improving people’s quality of life, especially military members and their families, and helping to create great visitor experiences in parks and protected areas around the world. I have found that outdoor recreation and education in natural settings provides unique opportunities for improving physical and mental health, and it’s an essential component of people’s quality of life.

Curt is the National Director of Strategy and Growth for Aramark’s Salute Hospitality Group, where he is responsible for developing partnerships with military organizations in the US and in international locations.  Before that, he was the Vice President of Consulting at the Balanced Scorecard Institute, where he led strategy management training and advisory services to public, non-profit, and private sector organizations worldwide. Curt led strategy and innovation offices at the Department of Defense, where he focused on large transformation initiatives that improved military service members’ and their families’ health and wellness.  He was also the government practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he led a five-year transformation of the National Park Service concessions system.

Curt served in the U.S. Army as a Club Officer. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University, a Master of Science in Real Estate from MIT, and was a Senior Research Fellow at the George Washington University School of Business.