Jeremy Goodman, President & CEO, Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium

In an interview with Invest:, Jeremy Goodman, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, discussed the developments supporting a 20-year master plan to improve the facility. “We’re going to be doing a lot of fundraising to get these projects off the ground, including providing better visitor amenities, and better homes for our animals,” Goodman said.

What recent changes have impacted Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium? 

A recent major accomplishment for us was rejoining the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), after leaving over a decade earlier. AZA is often considered the gold standard of zoos and aquariums. We have started some new events, as well, which are going to be huge draws. The very popular winter Wild Illuminations is a walkthrough holiday event with everything from reindeers, lanterns to carolers. The Jack O’Lantern Extravaganza is an October-long event with tens of thousands of people, over 3,000 hand-carved pumpkins, music, and theatrical displays.

On the animal front, there’s always new births and things along those lines. One of the challenges we certainly face is climate change. Severe weather is becoming more frequent, and weather patterns are changing. Being a mainly-outdoor facility, we are starting to feel the effects. Besides designing new exhibits with potentially more indoor spaces, we are looking at weather insurance, and moving events around to make sure they’re in the best possible season. If we have great weather, our attendance is through the roof. 

With the zoo receiving a $10 million gift, how do you see that impacting planning? 

It is a game changer for us. When I first started, we developed a new strategic plan, followed by a new 20-year facility master plan. When we add up all the projects in today’s dollars, it amounts to several hundred million dollars worth of investment into the zoo over the course of that time, in order to not only meet the ever-changing standards, but also to exceed the standards. We want to have state-of-the-art exhibits that inspire our visitors and become great homes for our animals. To build zoo exhibits properly is an expensive endeavor, but we are committed to excellence here, and a gift like this helps kick off all the projects in our master plan. 

Our new giraffe barn is going to exceed all of the standards, and be incredible for the well-being of our animals. It will give them so much more space, and allow our visitors to see them in the winter, which they’ve never been able to do. It will allow us to expand our giraffe population, as well. That is going to have an immediate impact on our visitors. I’m also super excited about the Expedition Indonesia project. This will, by far, be the largest immersive exhibit this region has never seen. We’re planning on having close to a dozen endangered, or critically endangered, animals featured. We’ll have not only incredible experiences around every corner, but it’ll also be the absolute best for the animals. It will incorporate education and conservation throughout the entire story. This gift allows us to start the design process, because an exhibit like that usually takes a couple of years to design, and costs several million dollars. This also allows us to raise money for the exhibit itself. People see this kind of support and they want to be part of it, so hopefully it’ll stimulate other very generous gifts from the community. 

How does the zoo’s 20-year master plan align with Pittsburgh’s desire for inclusive, accessible green spaces?

Our master plan is divided into three phases. The projects in the first phase we’ve committed to are the new front entrance, which is already under construction; and making a fully-accessible route from the currently steep, non-accessible gravel walkway. We are going to be doubling that in length, and paving it. At our front entrance, we’ll have restrooms at the ticketing plaza for the first time ever. That’ll include inclusive restrooms with adults changing tables, so special needs adults or large children can feel very comfortable coming here. The letters we’ve gotten from people who actually need them and use them bring tears to our eyes. We’re one of the few places in the entire region that has something like that. It’s incredible that people who are incredibly limited can come to the zoo every week because we have this facility. 

The giraffe barn project will improve the welfare for our animals, and the experience for our visitors. That will help set up phase two of the projects. It will serve as holding for a number of animals which will be part of our African rainforest exhibit. We’re already getting ahead of the game. The orangutan habitat is the same thing as our Expedition Indonesia. Orangutans are going to be the stars of the show, but we’ll have tons of other animals from Asian hornbills, Malayan tapirs, tomistoma, giant bats, clouded leopards, and siamang. 

Our education center expansion is part of phase one as well. Education is at the core of everything we do. We definitely want to make sure that we are fully accessible to our community, and provide them with what they need. The three-story expansion onto our current education building will allow us to have even better homes for our ambassador animals that go out to schools, and senior centers. We’ve been hiring so many more educators recently that we’re running out of office and work space for them. We are also looking at putting in a full-time, licensed nature preschool based out of the zoo, as well as putting in a studio for cyber school work. 

What are your key priorities for the zoo and aquarium for the next few years? 

We’re going to be doing a lot of fundraising to get these projects off the ground, including providing better visitor amenities, and better homes for our animals. We try to keep it fresh and provide our visitors with new experiences each time they come, whether it’s an event like Jack O’Lantern Extravaganza, or a new exhibit like the giraffe barn. Everything we know is constantly changing, and no two visits are ever alike. The animals are always doing something different, and there’s always something new going on here. The goal is to build that momentum, and get people excited.