Building a World Class Zoo for Nashville While Effecting a Global Impact on Conservation
Rick Schwartz has been President and CEO of the Nashville Zoo since the Zoo’s inception in 1990. After designing, building and operating the original Zoo, Nashville’s Mayor offered Schwartz an opportunity to move the Zoo to a 200 acre parcel near downtown. In 1997 he began the task of creating a new World Class Zoo for the City of Nashville. Over the last decade he has raised over 60 million dollars to create the second highest attended paid attraction in Middle Tennessee. Since the “New Zoo” opened its doors attendance has increased by over 1100 % and today the Zoo operates completely debt free. Schwartz has an international reputation for his unique naturalistic exhibit designs and his exhibits have been featured in numerous publications and Animal Planet’s Ultimate Zoo series. Many of his exhibits are considered the best for the particular species of any zoological facility.
He has long been an advocate for in-situ and ex-situ conservation and anyone who knows him is aware of his passion for clouded leopard conservation. Schwartz is the co-founder of the Clouded Leopard Consortium located at the Khao Kheow Zoo in Thailand. This facility is the most prolific breeding center in the world for the critically endangered clouded leopard. Nashville recently imported three pairs of cats to the US representing the first new founders into the North American population in over 20 years. His clouded leopard program and Nashville’s exhibit were also featured in Animal Planet’s “Growing Up Clouded Leopard.
He has worked closely with the National Zoo in providing capacity building, training and funding for a carnivore census in Khao Yai National Park and is committed to raising funds for conservation projects in over a dozen countries. This past year the Nashville Zoo directed over $500,000 toward conservation projects all over the world. Schwartz is a member of the Tapir Specialist Group and was the driving force behind the recent importation of a pair of Baird’s tapir from Costa Rica and Panama representing the first North American importation in thirty five years.
He also serves on the Board of Directors for GRACE (Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education) in the Congo whose work concentrates on protecting the rarest and largest of the great apes, the Grauer’s gorilla. The zoo is currently undergoing a massive expansion that includes a new pedestrian entrance which won the top design honor from the American Builders Contractors and new vehicular ingress and egress to accommodate the expanding crowds. In 2017 exhibits Schwartz designed will open for white rhino, Sumatran tiger, Andean bear and Mexican spider monkey and work will commence on an $11M State of the Art veterinary hospital. He is currently designing what will arguably be the best African exhibit in the country that will encompass 40 acres, double the number of current exhibits which will all be viewed from a boat ride.