HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Dillon Nature Center in Hutchinson has a new superintendent.

The Hutch Rec announced Thursday that John Gallagher will take over the duties at the nature center effective April 2. Gallagher replaces former DNC Superintendent Mary Clark, who retired in December.

Gallagher comes to Hutchinson from Pueblo, Colorado, where he worked as the Executive Director of the Nature and Raptor Center. He served in the executive director position for three years and previously worked as a program director there. He spent the final months of 2017 completing a collaborative plan to merge the nature center with another environmental education center in the area.

Gallagher also worked as a director of education at Stokes Nature Center in Utah and an interpretive naturalist at Potato Creek State Park in Indiana. He holds a bachelor’s degree in natural history from Prescott College in Arizona. He was part of the environmental education graduate program of Teton Science School in Jackson, Wyoming.

Gallagher says he looks forward to his move to Hutchinson. He is impressed by the community and all it has to offer for a town its size.