PROVIDENCE – Roger Williams Park Zoo is now searching for a new executive director.
The zoo announced Thursday that Dr. Jeremy Goodman, who has served as the zoo’s executive director since 2013, will leave his position in September to become the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s next CEO and president.
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Goodman said in a statement that it is an “incredibly difficult” decision to leave Roger Williams Park Zoo after eight years leading the state’s largest zoo. He said the zoo has had a successful trajectory over the last several years, including the last 18 months in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roger Williams Park Zoo said Goodman, since joining the organization, presided over a period of growth at the zoo where close to $27 million in capital improvements were made. Among them were the zoo’s new rainforest exhibit that opened in 2018, a commissary building, a new veterinary quarantine building and a new farmyard.
Goodman also developed a new master plan for the zoo, which emphasizes its continued efforts to exemplify best practices for animal care, conservation, environmental education and visitor experience, Roger Williams Park Zoo said.
“We will miss Jeremy’s capable leadership talents, but we congratulate him on his new position,” said Patrick LeBeau, chairman of the zoo’s board of trustees, in a statement. “Jeremy leaves us with an impressive legacy on which we will continue to build.”
LeBeau also said a national search will be conducted for Goodman’s successor.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
