You've seen them here at Lake James State Park working hard to provide you with an enjoyable visit. These are the people who make the park a shining natural resource.
Nora Coffey, Park Superintendent
As park superintendent, she leads operations and administration at the park with wide-ranging responsibilities that include staffing, training, law enforcement, planning, natural resources management, environmental education, and visitor services.
Nora has been with NC State Parks for the past 17 years.
Jenny Hughes, Park Ranger
Our newest ranger, Jenny grew up in Lenoir and has been coming to Lake James all her life.
She has a degree in Environmental Science from UNC-Chapel Hill. She is excited about educating the public about how to be good stewards of the natural spaces in their communities.
Heriberto Irizarry, Park Naturalist
Raised in Puerto Rico, he began working at Lake James as a park naturalist last summer.
He has a bachelor’s degree in biology and is a certified interpretive guide. His most recent job was as supervisor and coordinator of interpretive guides at Caborrojeños Pro Salud y Ambiente, a non-profit environmentalist organization based in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.
Shelby Longgrear, Admin Specialist
Shelby has been at Lake James State Park for three years but has been a NC State Parks employee for the past seven.
Andrew Carswell, Maintenance Mechanic
Karen Johnson, Admin Specialist
The park rangers and maintenance mechanics may be the most-visible, uniformed staff at Lake James, but there’s little doubt of which job is critical to the whole, multi-million- dollar operation – the Administrative Specialist.
Mailing Address
Lake James State Park
PO Box 340, Nebo, NC 28761
Physical Address
Paddy’s Creek Area
7321 NC 126 Nebo, NC 28761
Catawba River Area
2785 NC 126 Nebo, NC 28761