Pittsburgh zoo announces pick to succeed longtime leader

The director of a New England zoo will be the next to lead the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, zoo board officials announced Thursday.

Dr. Jeremy Goodman, a veterinarian and executive director of Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, R.I., will take over effective Oct. 1, according to the board.

Longtime Pittsburgh zoo President and Chief Executive Dr. Barbara Baker announced her retirement earlier this year after 31 years of leadership.

Goodman said in a statement he is looking forward to the opportunity.

“My family and I have visited Pittsburgh and the zoo, and we are happy that we will be calling Pittsburgh our new home,” he said.

Goodman has led the Providence zoo since 2013, according to the Pittsburgh board of directors. They say he’s been credited for “reinvigorating the nation’s third-oldest zoo” and bringing in new revenue streams through grants and public funding.

Prior to Providence, Goodman was director of the Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey and assistant director of the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Ind. His doctorate in veterinary medicine is from Tufts University, and he’s also earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Rutgers University.

Goodman told The Providence Journal that leaving the zoo was “an incredibly tough decision” and called his time there “a great privilege.

“I am incredibly proud to have led the organization to financial stability, and animal and educational programming excellence,” he told the Journal.

Donna Hudson, board chair of the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh, said in a statement she and her colleagues are delighted to have Goodman on board. He called him an “accomplished game-changer” in the city zoo industry.

“He will bring a new perspective and experience to advancing our (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accreditations, renewing our lease with the city, creating and updating exhibits and engaging the community in new ways in order to further enhance and grow our zoo,” she said.

Baker announced in June she would retire once new leadership was secured. She will be named president emeritus and remain a consultant through the end of 2022.

“I have been blessed to lead such an incredible organization for more than three decades,” she said at the time. “While I eagerly anticipate the next great adventure in my life, I find comfort in knowing that the zoo is in an excellent position and it’s an ideal time to begin the process of welcoming a new generation of innovative zoo leadership.”