Leadership
Okefenokee Swamp Park, Inc. benefits from dedicated and visionary leadership that blends nonprofit stewardship with strategic community engagement, driving its mission to conserve, educate, and inspire. Supporting this vision is a diverse and accomplished Board of Trustees, composed of professionals from fields such as education, architecture, law, athletics, and environmental sustainability. Their collective expertise ensures thoughtful governance, innovative thinking, and strong community alignment. Together, the leadership team works to uphold the Park’s legacy while shaping its future, fostering environmental stewardship, expanding educational access, and championing the long-term conservation of the Okefenokee.
Kim Bednarek
Executive Director
Kim Bednarek is an entrepreneurial and resourceful leader with the business acumen required to succeed in complex, relationship driven environments. Kim is highly regarded for her capacity to collaborate successfully across diverse constituent groups to sustain programs and processes that guide the vision, core values, and progressive development of any organization.
Kim currently serves in the role of Executive Director with OSP Inc., a 75-year-old non-profit dedicated to showcasing and conserving the wildlife and vast wilderness, Native American civilizations, pioneers and settlers, waterways, and habitats of North America’s largest “blackwater” swamp, the Okefenokee. Kim’s competencies with transformational management are supporting this organization to envision a catalytic role in the region as a resource of inspiration, education and stewardship, and positive economic development.
Kim served as the Head of School for The Discovery School in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, a nationally recognized Montessori – International Baccalaureate academic program from 2007-2020. During Kim’s 13-year tenure, The Discovery School experienced phenomenal growth including doubling the campus size and enrollment through land acquisitions and multiple building projects, while initiating key community partnerships with the Rainforest Alliance and White Oak Conservation Center.
Kim earned her Bachelor of Arts in English, with a Minor in Marine Biology, from the University of New Hampshire and her Master of Business Administration with Honors, Leadership Development from Jacksonville University. She also holds a Montessori Administrator’s credential, is a graduate of Leadership Florida Education, served 2-terms on the Florida Council of Independent Schools board and was a member of the Leadership Development Committee of the American Montessori Society. Kim currently serves on the Board of the St. Marys Riverkeeper and on the steering committee for the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge’ UNESCO inscription process.
