Although Max Korten isn’t technically a Marinite, my editor Daedalus Howell and I made an exception. Hopefully you’ll agree that this guy is someone who truly values ​​Marin to the highest degree!

What are you doing?

I am the Director of Marin County Parks. It is truly the best job I could imagine. I was hired in 2014 and became director in 2016. We manage 45 parks and 34 conservation areas covering approximately 18,000 acres in Marin County.

Where do you live?

In Berkeley. I worked in Marin for 17 years.

Where can we find you when you are not working? I love parks, both professionally and personally, but I’ve been coaching my son’s soccer team for a few years now, so you’re more likely to find me on the field with a bunch of wild 10-year-olds.

If you had to convince someone how great Marin is, where would you take them? Marin has so many amazing places, but an easy, breathtaking hike is the Phyllis Ellman Trail in Ring Mountain Preserve in Tiburon – a short loop to the top of the ridge with incredible views of San Francisco, Mount Tam, the Richmond Bridge, and pretty much everything else in the Bay Area.

What is missing from Marin?

A ferry or train connection to the East Bay.

What advice would you give to your fellow Marines?

That your local government is extremely accessible. We have a calendar of free park activities: parks.marincounty.org/discoverlearn/events-calendar. And don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any ideas or concerns. My email address is (email protected).

If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would you invite? My mother – she died when I was 25 – would have liked to meet my wife and son.

What advice would you have liked to have known 20 years ago? That it’s okay to make mistakes.

What will embarrass you in 20 years? That it was so difficult to create affordable housing.

Big question. What would you do to change the world? One of my goals as Marin County Parks Director is to ensure we welcome and provide benefits to everyone in our community. Parks help us stay healthy, exercise, relax, connect with friends and family, and experience nature, and they should be accessible to everyone.

Nish Nadaraja was part of the founding team of Yelp, is a member of the San Anselmo Arts Commission, and should take a closer look at the park’s events calendar.