National Park Service Announces Laurel Racine as Superintendent of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. - The National Park Service has selected Laurel Racine as superintendent of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in Massachusetts. Racine assumed her new role on February 9, 2026.

"I am honored to join the team at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and to support it as a place where industry, commerce and culture come together," said Superintendent Racine. "I look forward to working with park staff and community partners to share the stories of this historic port city and ensure it remains welcoming and accessible to visitors from across the country."

Racine brings nearly 25 years of National Park Service experience in cultural resource management, interpretive exhibit development and park operations. Most recently, she led the Northeast Region's Cultural Resources Program. Her previous roles include managing the region's History & Preservation Assistance team and serving as cultural resource manager at Lowell National Historical Park, where she led development of the award-winning One City, Many Cultures exhibit. She also served as senior curator for research and planning at the Northeast Museum Services Center. Her additional experience includes acting superintendent assignments at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and Adams National Historical Park, as well as site manager at Boston African American National Historic Site.

Racine holds a bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, a certificate in museum studies from Tufts University and a master's degree in early American culture from the Winterthur Program at the University of Delaware. She is also a published author, most recently contributing a chapter to Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites (2024). She lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband and two college-age children.