Local Zoo/Global Reach: The Present & Future of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo April 22, 2011

Join Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Director Steve Taylor as he discusses all that is new and exciting at the Zoo (hint: elephants!), as well as the Zoo's plans for the future.

Steve H. Taylor became Director of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in January of 1989. Under Taylor's leadership the Zoo has achieved national prominence with award-winning exhibits, educational programs and annual attendance averaging well over a million visitors. Taylor's vision for Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, as laid out in the Zoo's Master Plan, utilizes a physical plan dividing the Zoo into biomes, or habitats, to better demonstrate relationships between plants, animals and humans. In fulfilling that plan, several state-of-the-art exhibits have opened during Taylor's tenure, including The RainForest, Wolf Wilderness, and Australian Adventure.

Each exhibit has a strong conservation message that supports the Zoo's mission: to improve the future for wildlife.

Prior to working in Cleveland, Taylor was Director of the Sacramento Zoo. As Director there, Taylor opened new exhibits for orangutans and chimpanzees and accomplished many other smaller capital projects. During his time at the Sacramento Zoo, attendance doubled from 300,000 to 600,000 annual visitors. Membership to the Sacramento Zoological Society exploded, growing from 400 members to 6,000 members. Prior to working in Sacramento, he worked at both the San Francisco and Los Angeles Zoos. Taylor started his zoo career in Los Angeles as an animal keeper - an experience which gave him insight into the "heart and soul" of the Zoo business.

Taylor's professional associations are vast:

* Board of Directors for the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), 1987-1993 (served as AZA president in 1992)
* AZA Strategic Planning Task Force Chairman.
* Board of Regent of the AZA Management School
* AZA Accreditation Commission member; Chair 1998 & 1999
* Board member of The Wilds, a wild life conservation center in Central Ohio
* Member of Organization of World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA)
* Board of Directors of the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau

Taylor is a world traveler. In 1989 he was part of a State of Ohio and Cleveland Metroparks delegation to China. He has led Cleveland Zoological Society tours to Ecuador, Galapagos, Costa Rica, Belize, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Namibia.

A California native, Taylor was born in Inglewood, California. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Biology from University of California - Irvine, and attended graduate school at Long Beach State University and Golden Gate University. Taylor and his wife Sarah live in Rocky River, Ohio.

The Annual George S. Dively Memorial Forum on Cleveland's Tomorrow

Tickets: $18 for members, $30 for non-members
Registration: www.cityclub.org