Charles Sams
Charles Sams
Director of Indigenous Programs (incoming, July 1, 2025)
Yale Center for Environmental Justice
Charles F. Sams III served as the 19th Director of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), and the first Native American to hold the position in the agency’s over 100-year history. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2021, Sams is an enrolled member of the Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes.
Sams brings over 25 years of experience in conservation, natural resource management, and tribal government to the NPS. He has served in leadership roles across tribal, nonprofit, and governmental organizations, including the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Trust for Public Land, and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. His work emphasizes Indigenous stewardship, environmental justice, and collaborative conservation. Sams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from Concordia University and a Master of Legal Studies from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
People and Partners
Yale Center for Environmental Justice
Yale School of the Environment
Kroon Hall
195 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Email: ycej@yale.edu
Yale School of the Environment
Kroon Hall
195 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Email: ycej@yale.edu