(OAKLAND,CA) — The East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors voted 6-0 on Aug. 4 to appoint Max Korten general manager, resolving a leadership question that had sat open since November 2025.
Korten had held the job on an acting basis for nearly nine months. He joined the district as deputy general manager in October 2024. The board waited until March to launch a formal search, a five-month recruitment that drew close to 100 applicants nationwide and ended with the person already doing the work.
His record before the East Bay is what the board pointed to. Korten spent a decade at Marin County Parks, the last eight years as director and general manager, running 34 open space preserves and 45 parks with about 150 employees on a $35 million operating budget. He led the 2022 renewal of Marin's Measure A park funding tax, which passed with roughly 75% support, and a separate $20 million land acquisition bond. He also eliminated park entrance fees there.
Board President Olivia Sanwong, who represents Ward 5, said Korten has shown steady leadership and commitment to the district's staff and communities.
The appointment matters locally because the district operates much of the Tri-Valley's public open space, including Del Valle Regional Park, Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park and Brushy Peak Regional Preserve. Korten has named vegetation management as an early priority, aligning the district's fire, stewardship and operations teams under a single strategy.
0
0
Comments