Grace Lee

Grace has a lifelong passion for America’s parks and the great outdoors. As a first-generation Chinese American, her parents instilled a love of our country’s parks as she and her family spent numerous summers camping and hiking at national and state parks while driving cross-country in their Chrysler station wagon. This passion, established early in life, motivates her dedication to protecting our national parks and inspiring future generations of park enthusiasts and stewards, including her own children.

She joined National Park Trust in 2006 and has overseen the significant expansion of the organization’s mission, including a renewed focus on the purchase of important private lands to expand and protect the integrity of our national park sites and the launch and rapid growth of the Park Trust’s nationally recognized youth and family programs. These programs introduce the wonders of our parks to tens of thousands of students each year living in under-resourced communities from kindergarten through high school, college students as well as members of our military including those serving on active duty, veterans, Gold Star families, national guard and reserves, and caregivers –something that resonates on a personal level as the spouse of a Navy veteran.  

Over the past 20 years, she has also worked to build the board and staff, providing a broader range of expertise and leadership diversity for the Park Trust’s programs to meet the increased challenges facing our national parks.

Grace holds an AB degree in chemistry (biologic specialization) from Duke University, worked as an analytical chemist at the National Institutes of Health, and then as an editor for the journal Analytical Chemistry published by the American Chemical Society. 

For 10 years, Grace served on the board of a Maryland nonprofit and held leadership roles in two capital campaigns, the annual fund, and strategic planning. According to Grace, that work, combined with her love for parks and her ability to multitask and juggle the schedules of her busy young children, prepared her well for her tenure at the Park Trust. 

Grace also serves as the chair of the National Advisory Board for the Duke University Chapel.