Blue Ridge Parkway names 1st woman to lead park in 86 years KAREN CHÁVEZ, Asheville Citizen-Times FacebookTwitterEmail 3 1of3In this image provided by the National Parks Service, Tracy Swartout, poses. Swartout takes on a massive role and makes Western North Carolina history as she becomes the new Blue Ridge Parkway superintendent this spring. (National Parks Service/The Asheville Citizen-Times via AP)APShow MoreShow Less 2of3Hikers sit along the river at the lower falls at Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway on July 13, 2020. in Haywood County, N.C. The National Park Service announced last week that the Blue Ridge Parkway has a new superintendent, Tracy Swartout, effective May 23. (Angeli Wright/The Asheville Citizen-Times via AP)Angeli Wright/APShow MoreShow Less