Brookfield Zoo competitors

David O’Neill is the Chief Conservation Officer and Senior Advisor to the CEO for the National Audubon Society. In this role, he is responsible for creating and advancing the implementation of an organization-wide conservation vision, developing conservation strategies with clearly defined outcomes and ensuring their successful delivery using science-based accountability tools. He manages the organization’s science and policy departments, working with the leaders of those teams to shape advocacy and science agendas that reinforce one another and advance Audubon’s conservation strategies. As a senior advisor, David provides CEO David Yarnold with organizational development advice and is a fundraising partner. He is also the President of the Audubon Action Fund, Audubon's 501c4 partner organization. Prior to joining Audubon, David served as the vice president for Conservation Programs at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) where he managed a national conservation team and oversaw a $100 million grant portfolio focused on a range of conservation issues including forest health, coastal resilience, estuaries and freshwater biodiversity. David worked closely with senior administrative officials from the Departments of Interior, Agriculture and EPA to shape and advance conservation strategies across the country. He raised tens of millions of dollars from foundations, individuals and corporations to support NFWF priorities. O’Neill has served in executive positions in both the private and non-profit sectors, including as a vice president for Cherokee Investment Partners, a private equity firm based in North Carolina, as the Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, where he grew the organization and its influence across the Chesapeake watershed, and as the Director of Land Use Policy for the Urban Land Institute. He is the author of many publications on the relationship between land use and environmental health and was the recipient of the prestigious Andrew White Medal from Loyola University for his contributions to the recovery of the Chesapeake Bay.

As President and CEO, I lead the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Zoombezi Bay, Safari Golf Club and the Wilds conservation center with a focus on inspiring people to make a difference for wildlife and wild places. Annually more than 2.8 million people visit the Columbus Zoo and its other entities making it one of the most successful zoological institutions in the country and a significant economic engine in central Ohio. I have more than 30 years experience gained by first working as zookeeper and then advancing through every aspect of zoo management - from animal care to exhibit design to financial management to strategic visioning. I became the youngest zoo director in the country when tapped to manage Niabi Zoo in Illinois in 1995 and guided that zoo to gain national accreditation for the first time. I strive to use storytelling and my love of education to help inspire people to join the Zoo’s mission to protecting animals globally and locally. I have traveled with Jack Hanna for education programs, zoo promotions and national television appearances for more than 20 years, and do regular speaking engagements and television appearances, as well as speaking on behalf of state and federal legislation that affects wildlife. I place a high priority on animal welfare and conservation, and have had the opportunity to travel to several countries where the Zoo supports programs that help people help protect wildlife including a program helping save mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Africa. Globally, the Zoo has more than 100 conservation projects in 46 countries that are supported by $4 million raised through public donations and fundraisers each year.

Experienced zoological industry executive leader and advocate for the crucial role zoos play in science education, in regional, national and international wildlife species survival and in serving as a community resource.