Page 36 - 2016 CZS Impact Report

Conservation Leadership Awards

The 2016 Conservation Leadership Awards
showcased longtime leaders in animal welfare
and environmental conservation. At the awards
dinner on Tuesday, September 20, 2016, the
George B. Rabb Conservation Medal was
presented to Alejandro Grajal, Ph.D., President
& CEO of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.
Grajal is a former member of the CZS leadership
team, serving as Senior Vice President for
Conservation, Education, and Training for 10
years. As a leading voice on the role of zoos in
the face of pressing global environmental
Dr. Alejandro Grajal, President & CEO of Woodland Park Zoo, receiving the George B. Rabb concerns, Grajal has published more than 40
Conservation Medal from CZS Trustee Stephen Bent at the Conservation Leadership
Awards Dinner. peer-reviewed articles and books. Much of his
writing has focused on conserving wildlife and
how climate change will affect animals
throughout the world.
The Hamill and Bramsen families received
the Outstanding Conservation Philanthropy
Award. The Hamill and Bramsen families have
been integral to the history of the Society:
Alfred Hamill was one of the Society’s founding
Trustees, and Corwith “Corky” Hamill
continued the family’s tradition of Board service
as a Trustee, a position for which he served for
an unprecedented 60 years. In most recent years,
the families have provide lead gifts for Hamill
CZS Vice Chair Betsy Bramsen, Governing Life Member Nancy Hamill Winter, and Governing
Member Jim Bramsen accepting the Outstanding Conservation Philanthropy Award on behalf Family Play Zoo and Hamill Family Wild
of the Hamill and Bramsen families at the Conservation Leadership Awards Dinner. Encounters. The award was accepted by
Jonathan Hamill, Nancy Hamill Winter, and
Elizabeth Hamill Bramsen.
Finally, Rick Waddell, Chairman and
CEO of Northern Trust, accepted the Edith
Rockefeller McCormick Corporate Conservation
Award on behalf of Northern Trust for its
partnership dating to the early days of the
Society. Northern Trust has had charge of the
Society’s banking business and has managed the
Society’s assets from the beginning. Since 1971,
the Trust has provided general operating
support, restricted education program support,
matching grants, event support, and campaign
support totaling more than $1.1 million.

Rick Waddell, Chairman and CEO of The Northern Trust Company, receiving the Edith Rockefeller
McCormick Corporate Conservation Award from CZS donor Susan Crown.

34 CHICAGO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY | ANNUAL IMPACT REVIEW