Nancy McToldridge praises her team for its accomplishments
“Looking back to see how far we’ve come, and everything that has been accomplished with our amazing team, all while being advocates for wildlife conservation worldwide, is tremendously rewarding,” said Nancy H. McToldridge, who’s retiring as the Santa Barbara Zoo director.
Nancy McToldridge, the longtime director of the Santa Barbara Zoo, is retiring at the end of the month.
Ms. McToldridge has called the Santa Barbara Zoo home since 1982. It’s where she began her four-decade career starting out as the director of education.
“Being a part of the Santa Barbara Zoo and this beloved Santa Barbara community has been such an honor,” Ms. McToldridge said in a news release.
“Looking back to see how far we’ve come, and everything that has been accomplished with our amazing team, all while being advocates for wildlife conservation worldwide, is tremendously rewarding,” she said. “I look forward to supporting the Santa Barbara Zoo for many years to come!”
Ms. McToldridge’s late husband, Ted McToldridge, served as the zoo’s first director from 1964 until his retirement in December 1997.
“I know Ted would agree with me that our many years together at the Santa Barbara Zoo were some of the best of our lives!” Ms. McToldridge said.
She began her career at the Ohio State Parks as an interpretive naturalist, where she discovered her passion for connecting people with nature. Following this passion led her to volunteer as a docent at the Columbus Zoo. she moved to Santa Barbara in 1982 after accepting the position of education curator. She was promoted to assistant director in 1989, COO in 1999, and director in 2007.
“There aren’t too many people who serve for 40 years at the same institution and still fewer who have the kind of impact of Nancy McToldridge,” Rich Block, the zoo president, said. “It is impossible to overstate the significance of Nancy’s contributions to the Santa Barbara Zoo and our professional community.
“While Nancy is a beloved local figure, she is equally beloved across the entire community of Association of Zoos & Aquariums accredited institutions,” Mr. Block said. “She has served her profession and colleagues through outstanding leadership, passion, devotion and joy, infecting all around her with energy and inspiration. We were lucky to claim Nancy as our own!”
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
FYI
The Santa Barbara Zoo has established the Nancy H. McToldridge Zoo Camp Scholarship Fund. To make an inaugural gift and help send a child to camp in honor Ms. McToldridge, go to sbzoo.pivvit.com/mctoldridge-scholarship.
