Staff Spotlight, Joseph Berger

Assistant Park Manager, Joseph "Joe" Berger

Collier-Seminole State Park

Please join us in welcoming our new assistant park manager, Joseph “Joe” Berger, to the Collier-Seminole State Park team.

Joe has accepted the important role and is ready to provide experienced leadership to park field staff and volunteers.

As a young child growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, Joe loved playing outdoors and exploring nearby parks with friends and family. He spent a few years living in Tennessee where he graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in English.

By 2018 he was ready to move to Florida to be near his parents, who relocated in 2014. While in search of his dream career, Joe soon found the perfect opportunity to work for the Florida Park Service. This would give him the chance to create exciting and educational outdoor experiences he so enjoyed from his childhood. The Florida Park Service fit the bill.

Becoming a part-time park ranger in 2018 at Stump Pass Beach State Park was the first rung on the ladder of success. He then quickly moved into a permanent full-time park ranger position at Gasparilla Island State Park. Little did he know that the events of 2020 would cast him into a multi-dimensional work schedule taking on tasks of the park services specialist, which included volunteer management and supervision.

Joe also tackled other rangers' duties to help the team through the challenging year of Covid-19.

Here at Collier-Seminole, Joe is in his element when he is outdoors. Even in his spare time, between unpacking moving boxes, you can find him hiking and exploring on one of the park’s challenging trails.

Collier-Seminole is Joe’s first camping park, which he sees as a perfect opportunity to hone his visitor service skills. With a 105-campsite campground that runs 365 days a year, Joe is going to acquire lots of visitor service experience.

The large wilderness area of Collier-Seminole also has Joe looking forward to being involved with the resource management team’s prescribed fire program. Meeting the park’s resource management goals takes top priority in providing a natural and healthy trail system.

Being a family man, Joe finds it easy to relate to kids, and he has a vision of creating programs that will focus attention on families and children. He wants these programs to help kids connect with Florida’s natural ecosystems and inspire lifelong dedication to keeping our recreation areas healthy and thriving.              

Joe also says he’s a good listener: “If you see me around the park, please come share your stories. I can’t wait to hear them!”

Come visit Joe and all the friendly staff at Collier-Seminole State Park. The Real Florida!