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THE LEGACY OF

Stuart Strahl

SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR LEADER

After 18 years at the helm of the Chicago
Zoological Society and 35 years working
in conservation, President & CEO Stuart
Strahl is retiring.
S cientist. Conservationist. Leader. Philanthropist. Visionary.

The Chicago Zoological Society’s president & CEO,
Dr. Stuart Strahl, is all of these things and more. In 2003,
he took the reins of the now 100-year-old nonprofit organization
that operates Brookfield Zoo.
The Chicago Zoological Society’s (CZS) former director
was the venerable Dr. George Rabb who led the institution for
27 years. “George Rabb took the zoo a very long way,” said John
Grube, vice chair and immediate past chair of the CZS Board
of Trustees. “Stuart built on what had been created and took the
institution to yet another level.”
“He’s been a terrific asset to the zoo,” said Michael Emmert,
treasurer of the CZS Board of Trustees since 2001. “He brought
the practices and policies that are appropriate for an organization
of this kind and size . . . and yet maintained the principles and
philosophies of what the zoo is about—not only the animals,
but inspiring conservation leadership and getting people more
engaged with nature. When we look at his full body of work,
he’s done a pretty outstanding job.”
Some of the people who worked most closely with Strahl
describe the extraordinary person he is and the remarkable legacy
he leaves behind.

Stuart has a deep and profound connection
with the animals under his care.

Barbara Levy Kipper

TRUSTEE, CZS BOARD OF TRUSTEES

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12 GATEWAYS | THE LEGACY OF STUART STRAHL