On January 21, 2021, the 12 Members of the NOVA Parks (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority) Board elected former Secretary of Commerce and Trader of Virginia, business executive, and conservation leader Cate Magennis Wyatt to Chair the Board. Sean Kumar, business consultant and former Army JAG Officer of Alexandria, was elected Vice-Chair. Brian Knapp, a former NOVA Parks Chair from the City of Fairfax, was elected Treasurer. Jeff Tarbert, former Mayor of Falls Church, was elected as the At-Large member of the Executive Committee.

NOVA Parks, one of the finest Regional Park Authorities in the country, has led park and conservation efforts in Northern Virginia for 62 years. The agency has 34 regional parks totaling 12,240 acres and 100 miles of trails within the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun and Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax Falls Church.

Michael Nardolilli, from Arlington, has served as Chair since 2018 and oversaw a period of growth and development, which included expansions of Occoquan and Pohick Bay Regional Parks with additional lands in Fairfax County and a new lease on Cameron Run Regional Park in Alexandria. New parks and amenities were created including, the groundbreaking of dual parallel trails in the Falls Church section of the W&OD Trail, the opening of Mt. Defiance/Battlefield park located within Loudoun, the Jean R. Packard Center at Occoquan, the Volgenau Conservatory at Meadowlark, and the Ice & Lights entertainment center at Cameron Run. Civil Rights markers were unveiled at Tinner Hill in Falls Church to honor the first rural branch of the National Association for the Protection of Colored People (NAACP) in the United States, and a second marker in Leesburg honors Orion Anderson.

"I am so excited to have Cate Magennis Wyatt assuming the role of Chair. She is a leader of regional, state, and national significance. As the Founder and President Emerita of Journey Through Hallowed Ground, former Chair of the Great Meadow Foundation, and a former Cabinet Secretary in Virginia, Cate is often called on to help with significant conservation and historical projects, most recently, the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library. Her knowledge of our region, commitment to public lands, and leadership skills bode very well for the future of NOVA Parks," remarked Paul Gilbert, NOVA Parks Executive Director.

"I am honored to serve and have rarely seen a finer, more entrepreneurial, mission-driven Team of professionals than the Team at NOVA Parks," remarked Cate Magennis Wyatt. "The citizens of Northern Virginia, including the 3 million who enjoy the parks, rarely if ever know that we, the taxpayers, only contribute 13% towards NOVA Parks total operating budget. The remaining 87% of the funds are earned through the enterprising, often pioneering, and always nimble efforts of the NOVA Team. Never were their talents more apparent than their herculean response to the COVID pandemic. They had to shutter our waterparks and event venues, which typically generate 50% of our revenue, while simultaneously expanding visitor services to meet the demand within the parks, which remained open. Even with these challenges, NOVA Parks is poised for growth. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for service above and beyond. If COVID has taught us anything, we've learned that the well being of every citizen can be directly tied to our access to public parks."