Lindsay Wildlife Executive Director Set to Depart Lindsay Dec. 31

Lindsay Wildlife Experience Logo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Elisabeth Nardi
(925) 627-2961
[email protected]

Lindsay Board of Directors Launches National Search for New Executive Director

WALNUT CREEK—Norma Bishop, Executive Director of Lindsay Wildlife Experience, has announced that she will leave Lindsay at the end of December after two years at the helm of the 60-year-old wildlife institution.LWM_Norma-2-2“This is the perfect time for me to leave—I have done what I was brought on board to do,” said Bishop, who plans to pursue a consulting career. “Lindsay has gone through many substantive changes over the past 18 months that have set a course for an expanded future. We’re devoting more resources to mission-related activities and those resources are growing.”
Bishop came to Lindsay in January of 2014 after spending eight years as the executive director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. Prior to living in Wisconsin, Bishop was executive director at Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and taught non-profit finance and fundraising law at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her 21-year career in the U.S. Navy included
helping to transition the Naval Air Station Alameda from a military base to a wildlife reserve and historic district.
During Bishop’s tenure, Lindsay has changed its name from museum to Lindsay Wildlife Experience and helped create a new identity that better defines Lindsay’s scope and purpose. Under Bishop’s leadership Lindsay’s organization was
restructured to devote more resources to mission-related activities, with an emphasis on building the organizational capacity to create a long-term, sustainable future. The public has seen a new website launched, the offering of monthly Free Fridays at Lindsay, a comprehensive advertising campaign, and live, wild animal exhibitions. In early 2016, Lindsay will open What’s Wild—What’s Not, a new, engaging exhibit—thanks to a $150,000 foundation gift secured by Bishop and her team.
Board President Marilyn Fowler thanks Bishop for her service and her steadfastness in carrying out the board’s vision.
“As Executive Director, Norma has worked tirelessly to increase outreach to civic leaders, businesses, and community groups, energize and interact with Lindsay’s large number of volunteers, and improve Lindsay’s facilities,” she said.
With planning for new exhibits and events underway, including a 60th Birthday Bash and Community Open House on October 11, there is much work to do at Lindsay over the next several months, and Bishop and her team are focused.
“As we celebrate 60 years as a beloved East Bay institution, the future is brighter than ever,” Bishop said.
The Lindsay Wildlife Board of Directors has hired the same search firm that found Bishop to conduct a nation-wide search for Lindsay’s next leader. The process will take four to six months Fowler said.
In the meantime, work will continue as usual with Bishop running day-to-day operations.
###

About Lindsay Wildlife Experience
Celebrating its 60th anniversary, Lindsay connects people with wildlife to inspire responsibility and respect for the world we share. Lindsay is a unique natural history and environmental education center where wild live animals are just inches away from visitors. It serves more than 100,000 children and adults and treats more than 5,500 animals each year, includes the first
wildlife rehabilitation hospital established in the U.S. Lindsay is open Tuesday for Members Only and Wednesday through Sunday; general admission is $8.50/adults; $6.50/children ages 2-17; $7.50/seniors age 65 and up, free for members. Free parking. Check www.lindsaywildlife.org for hours and directions.