New Executive Director Named for Lindsay Wildlife Experience

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Elisabeth Nardi

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December 2, 2015

New Executive Director Named for Lindsay Wildlife Experience

New Leader Will Focus on Advancement of SF Bay Area’s Premier Wildlife Rehabilitation and Nature Education Center

WALNUT CREEK­—After a nearly five-month national search Lindsay Wildlife Experience is pleased to announce that Cheryl McCormick will become executive director of the wildlife hospital and education center effective at year-end.LINKEDIN IMAGE

McCormick comes to Lindsay from the YWCA of Monterey County, where she has been executive director for the last three years. McCormick helped restructure that organization and led a financial turnaround that included increased grant funding and individual donations.

McCormick replaces outgoing Executive Director Norma Bishop, who is leaving at the end of the year to become a consultant after leading Lindsay for the past two years.

Lindsay Board President Gabe Togneri said McCormick will help guide Lindsay into the future with a continued dedication to caring for wildlife and the responsibility to educate the public.

“McCormick was chosen because she had been an executive director in other organizations; she has a reputation as an innovative leader and great manager who takes a collaborative approach with her staff, and she has a background in environmental science and ecology,” Togneri said.

A conservation ecologist, McCormick has an impressive background. In addition to the YWCA position, she also served as Executive Director of the American Cetacean Society, and before that as Director of Conservation of the Santa Lucia Conservancy. She has a bachelor’s in environmental science with minors in biology and chemistry from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. She also earned a master’s in geography, as well as a Ph.D. in ecology, from the Institute of Ecology at The University of Georgia.

“We need a leader who can continue to develop Lindsay’s exhibits and programs so that we can be even more effective educating children and adults about the natural world here in California, and we believe we have found that with Cheryl,” Togneri said. “We also need a leader who will increase Lindsay’s visibility in the Bay Area—particularly of Lindsay’s nationally recognized rehabilitation hospital—a task which began under Norma’s tenure.”

Lindsay is celebrating its 60-year anniversary in 2015 and McCormick said she is excited to come to Lindsay and help move it into the next 60 years.

“I am thrilled to bring my passion and energy to Lindsay, and to serve an extraordinary staff and volunteer corps that inspire a sense of wonder and curiosity about the natural world in people of all ages,” McCormick said.

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About Lindsay Wildlife Experience: Lindsay connects people with wildlife to inspire responsibility and respect for the world we share. It 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. Lindsay’s Hospital is a pioneer in the field of wildlife care recognized by the New York Times Magazine as America’s oldest wildlife rehabilitation center.

 

Visiting Lindsay Wildlife Experience

1931 1st Ave, Walnut Creek, CA 94597

925-935-1978

www.lindsaywildlife.org

 

Exhibit Hall Hours & Admission

Wednesday—Sunday, noon. to 5 p.m.

Admission is free for members and children under 2 years old, $8.50 for adults, $7.50 for seniors 65+ and $6.50 for children 2 -17.