Join The Explorers Club on Monday, October 7th, for an educational celebration of one of New York City’s most iconic institutions – The Bronx Zoo – with Director Jim Breheny.
Before the Empire State Building was constructed, before the first New York City subway ride, before the New York Yankees were a team, there was the Bronx Zoo.
This iconic New York institution first opened its doors as the New York Zoological Park on November 8, 1899, and since then has become a cultural and education leader, a conservation giant, and a gateway to nature for more than a half billion visitors.
To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo and Executive Vice President of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Zoos and Aquarium, will offer a behind the scenes at the zoo’s efforts to educate millions about animals and the places they live while working to protect wildlife and nature around the world.
This in-person event at the Explorers Club Headquarters will include an audience Q&A.
Streaming live here on explorers.org, our YouTube Channel, and our Facebook Live — Monday, October 7th at 7:00 pm ET.
RESERVATIONS
This will be an in-person lecture at Explorers Club Headquarters.
In-person tickets are $20 for Members, and $35 for the General Public.
Check-in will begin at 6:00 pm, with a beer and wine reception from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Jim Breheny
Director of the Bronx Zoo
Jim leads the Wildlife Conservation Society’s four zoos and aquarium—the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and New York Aquarium—which collectively house over 20,000 animals representing more than 1,550 species—the largest coordinated collection of animals in the world. He has been with WCS for over 50 years.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Jim has connected WCS’s zoo- and field-based conservation work, leading reintroduction programs for species at the brink of extinction ranging from Kihansi spray toads to American bison. He has also overseen the opening of many exhibits that introduce visitors to our field conservation work, including Madagascar! at the Bronx Zoo and Donald Zucker and Barbara Hrbek Zucker Ocean Wonders: Sharks! at the New York Aquarium.
Jim has a long record of contributions to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), including serving as Chair of the Board of Directors. He also championed the successful effort to increase AZA member financial support to field conservation programs: AZA members currently contribute over $250 million annually to global conservation efforts. Jim has served on the boards of numerous other conservation organizations.
One of Jim’s greatest contributions to the zoo and aquarium community is the docuseries THE ZOO, which aired for five seasons on Animal Planet and appeared in over 200 markets around the world. At a time when the public perception of zoos had declined, THE ZOO took millions of viewers behind the scenes and told the story of how we care for animals, changing the public’s view of not only the Bronx Zoo, but zoos and aquariums around the world.
