Reed Robinson

Close Encounters of the Cool Kind

Actual Job Title

Superintendent, Devils Tower National Monument

How to Get the Job

“I was a National Park Service seasonal employee who became permanent through an intake program.”

Meeting @OPMDirector

Reed met up with Director Archuleta while attending the Society of American Indian Government Employees annual training program in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Free Advice for a Young Person Interested in Government

“Through Federal public service you can develop a deep understanding of excellence and how to apply it to your circumstance.”

Personal Definition of Excellence

“Self-awareness and intellectual curiosity, integrity, humility, resilience, clarity of mission and collaboration.” 

Cool Fact #1

Devils Tower, 1,267-foot tall remnant of an extinct volcano, was previously named in five tribal language as, variously, Aloft on a Rock (Kiowa tribe), Bear's House (Cheyenne), Grizzly Bear’s Lodge(Lakota), Bear's Tipi (Arapaho), and Tree Rock (Kiowa).

Cool Fact #2

The 1977 release of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind featured the monument as a key plot point.