PROVIDENCE (AP) – The executive director of Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence is leaving for a job in Pittsburgh, the zoo announced Thursday.
Jeremy Goodman will step down next month to become President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. He has been running the Providence Zoo since 2013.
Goodman called it “an incredibly difficult decision” and said he had great respect for his colleagues.
“I am incredibly proud to have led the organization to financial stability and excellence in animal and educational programming,” he said in a statement.
During his eight years at the zoo, Goodman oversaw a period of growth that included capital improvements of nearly $ 27 million, zoo officials said. The expansion included a new rainforest exhibition, a commissioner’s building and a new veterinary quarantine building.
Patrick LeBeau, chairman of the zoo’s board of trustees, said he would miss Goodman’s leadership.
“Jeremy leaves us with an impressive legacy that we will continue to build on,” LeBeau said in a statement. “He is much regretted.”
Before joining the Roger Williams Park Zoo, Goodman worked at the Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey and the Indiana Potawatomi Zoo.
Providence Zoo officials plan to conduct a national search for the next executive director.
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