Gerard A. Baker, Ph.D., is the Superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. He has been with the federal government for 27 years; 24 years with the National Park Service and 3 years with the United States Forest Service.
Dr. Baker is a full-blood member of the Mandan-Hidatsa Tribe of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Mandaree, North Dakota. He grew up on the reservation on his father’s cattle ranch in western North Dakota.
Baker received his Ph.D. in Public Service from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in December 2007. He is a graduate of Southern Oregon State University in Ashland, Oregon, with degrees in Criminology and Sociology.
In May 2004, Baker took over as Superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, responsible for over 1,200 acres which includes the magnificent carving of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, symbolizing the first 150 years of our nation’s history. Mount Rushmore National Memorial has almost 3 million visitors per year. Baker and his wife, Mary Kay, have four children.