S U MMER 2026
A TIME OF CELEBRATION AND GROWTH A NOTE FROM THE CHAIR
Lawrence Hatch Chair Cleveland Zoological Society
It has been such a joy to begin my term as Board of Directors Chair in this landmark year for the Cleveland Zoological Society. I’m grateful for Immediate Past Chair Christine Myeroff’s efforts to lead our fund and friend raising efforts for Primate Forest, and I look forward to continuing her momentum and celebrating the first phase of the building opening later this summer! Another thing that brings me great pride in this organization
is our recent work in developing a 2026-2029 Strategic Plan. Approved by the Board of Directors in June and already being implemented, this plan embraces our success over the last several years and moves the Zoo Society toward further meaningful growth. The process of developing the plan was comprehensive and thoughtful; our Board was filled with curiosity, and the Directors raised great questions that engaged all of us at every step. continued on next page
A PROUD ACHIEVEMENT A NOTE FROM THE CEO events like Twilight at the Zoo and Asian Lantern Festival, and of course, many golf cart tours and Zoo walks with donors and friends like you.
Sarah Crupi Chief Executive Officer Cleveland Zoological Society
Dear friends This is easily my most exciting summer at the Cleveland Zoo Society. The final stretch of Primate Forest construction has been spectacular to watch each day, and the excitement among Zoo visitors, staff, and the community is palpable. Not to mention, summer brings such vitality to the Zoo through Summer Day Camp, favorite
With the upcoming opening of the first phase of Primate Forest, we are filled with pride for the role the Zoo Society played in funding this project. The scale of its impact is clearer than ever, and it would not have been possible without your friendship, vision, and generosity. Thank you for seeing what we see in this: an opportunity to elevate the Zoo as an economic driver, educational powerhouse, and leader among its peers. You have helped us reach this historic milestone. We can’t wait to celebrate with you this fall when the final touches are complete and we can raise a glass to toast
our friends IN the new building! Until then, we continue to raise friends and funds for the Zoo and to finish our Primate Forest campaign. Gorilla Forest is next! The Zoo Society staff and Board are committed to supporting the Zoo in creating this immersive space that represents the home our gorilla troop deserves and a guest experience that is yet to be seen in North America. There is so much more to come. In the meantime, we look forward to celebrating this newly opened space soon with you, our friends and champions. Please reach out if you’d like to visit and explore the updates in person – we’d love to share it with you.
CONTINUED F R O M P R E V I O U S PAG E Over the course of 18 months, the Strategic Planning Committee scoured examples from other organizations, conducted a survey of Zoo Society donors to glean their valuable insights and perceptions, interviewed key stakeholders, and involved Board members through discovery exercises and thought-provoking scenarios. Our 2026 Board Retreat yielded critical feedback that helped polish the Strategic Plan before it was approved two months later.
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Very soon we will begin to share more details of what we aim to achieve over the next few years and how we will approach these ambitious goals. To be sure, completing the Primate Forest fundraising campaign and opening Gorilla Forest tops the list and has our full attention and efforts. I have complete faith in the continuing success of the Zoo Society, and I’m eager to work alongside Sarah and her
endlessly capable team as we navigate this time of celebration and tremendous growth and progress. I hope to see you soon at the Zoo, and please feel free to contact me with any questions or to get more involved.
DONOR PR OFILE
Lawrence Hatch, Chair, CZS Board of Directors What led you to join the Zoo Society Board in 2015, and what has driven your continued engagement and leadership since then? I joined because of the excellent reputation of the Zoo Society, its Board of Directors, the Zoo itself and Cleveland Metroparks. I have visited the Zoo and Metroparks extensively throughout my life, and I wanted to be part of the continued success of both through the financial support of the Zoo Society.
Lawrence Hatch
What is your favorite animal or habitat at the Zoo and why? Tom and Terry, the two giant Aldabra tortoises who have lived at the Zoo since August 1955, making them the Zoo’s longest resident animals and the oldest at around 100 years old! The Zoo’s Animal Care team has figured out how to move them (at several hundred pounds each!) between indoor and outdoor habitats with the change of the seasons. When Phase 2 of Primate Forest is complete, this will no longer be necessary as they will have a new home under the ETFE roofing in Gorilla Forest.
As much as I love our wonderful animals and habitats, it is the full extent of the Zoo’s impact on our community that has motivated my long-term engagement. The people in our community are central to everything we do, from our amazing visitors, members and donors to the incredible Zoo Society and Zoo teams.
What are you most excited about as the new Board Chair? What are your goals? Primate Forest! It is an amazing project, and I can’t wait to see the opening later this summer of the new CrossCountry Mortgage Forest Home, the former RainForest building reimagined as the Samuel H. Miller Tropical Forest, and the indoor/outdoor Orangutan Forest. From there, it will be exciting to get to work on Phase 2 – I’m eager to be part of it.
What do you think Primate Forest means for the Zoo and its community? I believe that it will be a national – and international – destination that spotlights and supports the Zoo’s leadership role in education, conservation and animal well-being.
What area of Primate Forest are you most looking forward to visiting when it opens? In the first phase of opening, it will be wonderful to see the outdoor orangutan habitat. Further in the future, I can’t wait to see the tortoises and gorilla troop – as well as the keepers and researchers – have a world-class facility to live and work in. I know everyone who visits the Zoo will love it too.
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New and Improved Digs, Driven by Science Emily Baber, Communications Specialist
Orangutans are the headline of its first phase, but the opening of Primate Forest brings with it a bevy of habitat upgrades for other species as well. Through collaborative efforts to study, observe, and consider the
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well-being of each animal, the Zoo’s scientists, animal care experts, and veterinary staff have informed evidence-driven recommendations that will take many habitats in the space to a new level. Some of these changes came
about through regularly scheduled well-being assessments, while others were the result of dedicated scientific studies. Here are a few of the highlights.
Veterinary and animal care staff discuss adjustments to habitat spaces to improve animal well-being.
BURMESE PYTHON Cinnamon the Burmese python will have more room to stretch out her 14-foot body in her expanded space in Primate Forest. Changes to her habitat began in 2019, when the Animal Care and Facilities teams worked together to design and install an attachment to her habitat, lengthening her available space into the non-public area. This was done in response to research on the spatial needs of snakes in human care. When the teams noticed that the snake was choosing to spend most of her time in the new space out of guest view, they installed a camera in the habitat to monitor and better understand her behavior, activity, and use of the space. Assessment of the around-theclock footage informed changes in Cinnamon’s light schedule to give her more time in the dark, as well as the addition of a pool platform and more places to hide for comfort.
Ongoing analysis revealed that these changes led to more balanced use of her space. Now in Primate Forest, her habitat will be connected to the space next to it, significantly increasing her total space as well as the complexity of her habitat. Cinnamon is a wonderful example of the Zoo’s animal care experts’ curiosity and dedication to pursuing data-driven changes to support animal well-being.
changed depending on whether the waterfall was on or off – the tamarins spent more time in their behind-the-scenes areas when the waterfall was running. While the waterfall was removed from the space in the design of
TAMARINS Tamarins will have a quieter place to call home in Primate Forest. As part of a Zoo Graduate Research Assistant’s doctoral dissertation on how the zoo soundscape affects animals, the pied and golden lion tamarins were assessed to determine if the nearby waterfall in the former RainForest building influenced their behavior and use of their habitat spaces. The study found that both behavior patterns and space use
Graduate Research Associate Chris Jackson testing a camera.
Golden lion tamarin.
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to make the most of Sheena’s space by lowering the height of the rocky elements and adding shelving and substrate to create a more complex, usable space for the adventurous dwarf crocodile.
Sheena the dwarf crocodile.
Primate Forest, the findings led to discussions about how sound may affect animals acutely and over time. In considering the best opportunity to improve the well-being of the tamarins in the new Primate Forest, the team decided to relocate them to a larger, species-appropriate space on the second floor of Primate Forest.
DWARF CROCODILE A few years ago, Sheena the dwarf crocodile was observed climbing the rocky elements of her habitat and resting in a planter that wasn’t intended for her to access. This sparked the Animal Care team’s curiosity – and another collaboration with Facilities to expand the usable space of the habitat. They made climbable ramps to
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make the habitat’s vertical space more accessible to her, and the Conservation & Science team installed cameras to see how she used them. The footage revealed that the crocodile was not utilizing the ramps to climb or descend from the top of the rockwork, likely because they were too steep to use successfully. Instead, she was opting to drop from the rocks into the water below. The best scenario, they determined, was to remove some of the rockwork to lower the overall height, giving her safer access to more of the vertical space. When the renovation of this habitat came up during the Primate Forest design process, the Animal Care, Conservation & Science, Facilities, and Planning & Design teams collaborated to provide recommendations
The Zoo’s investment in exemplary animal care and leading-edge health research are on full display in Primate Forest. Its dedication to excellence in every detail of this space makes it a truly stunning experience – one that will captivate visitors and elevate the Zoo for years to come. The collaboration behind these creatively improved spaces is also a point of pride, bringing together animal keepers, curators, research scientists, and skilled tradespeople to create custom features that support specific natural behaviors and promote overall well-being. It is pretty amazing to consider, and often invisible to the average visitor – but this dedication is the very foundation that makes Cleveland Metroparks Zoo a world-class institution and a leading example among its peers.
The Zoo’s investment in exemplary animal care and leading-edge health research are on full display in Primate Forest.
HABITAT SPOTLIGHT ADVENTURE PL AYSPACE This large, indoor playspace on the second level of Primate Forest will feature a naturalistic design that draws inspiration from the facility’s focus on forests as well as the orangutans that call it home. The space will look out over the outdoor habitats so as children play they may see the great apes moving and exercising as well! Due to its size, the orangutan playspace structure required a lift through the second floor window.
(LtoR) Patrick Pastore, PNC Regional President for Cleveland; Chelsea Lengal, PNC Client & Community Relations Specialist; Erin Deimling, PNC Client & Community Relations Director; and Spencer Dieken, PNC SVP & Corporate Banking Market Leader and CZS Director.
Bridges and tunnels encourage imaginative exploration.
(Above) The PNC Adventure Playspace will be a must-visit destination for families – and a tremendous resource during the colder months. (Below) The walls in this space are covered with playful animal designs.
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TOURS & EVENTS
Primate Forest Construction Tours
CZS VP of Philanthropy Andrea Ponikvar sharing Primate Forest construction updates with Pride Donor Circle members.
A walk through the outdoor orangutan space.
Up-close at PNC Adventure Playspace.
Pride Donor Circle tour.
Lawrence Hatch leading a tour.
CZS Board Directors visited the construction site before the June Board meeting. 8 | Pr imate Forest News
The 50 Club hosted an event at the Zoo in May which included a panel discussion with (LtoR) CZS Board Chair Lawrence Hatch, CZS CEO Sarah Crupi, Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman, and Zoo Executive Director Dr. Chris Kuhar.
Tails + Cocktails presented by the Steffee Family April 29, 2026
(LtoR) CZS Director Joanne Kirk, Steve Kirk, Tamiko Jenkins, and Zoo Executive Director Chris Kuhar, Ph.D.
This year’s first lecture focused on the Zoo’s leadership role in breeding threatened reptiles and amphibians to bolster populations in the wild. These important projects will be brought to the forefront when Primate Forest opens, with dedicated spaces that support the work - and share more of it with Zoo visitors. (LtoR) VP of Philanthropy Andrea Ponikvar, Russell and Stephanie James, Corrie Field, Director of Foundation & Community Relations Carly Kalligragas, and Kenneth Field.
A sold-out crowd at Tails + Cocktails.
Tails + Cocktails speakers (LtoR) Education Manager, Community Engagement Tessaliz Quiles Delgado, Animal Keeper Kristy Becka, Head of Veterinary Programs Mike Selig, DVM, and event moderator and Zoo Executive Director Dr. Chris Kuhar.
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THANK YOU ICONS Cleveland Zoological Society The Cubs at Susie’s Bear Hollow Cuyahoga County The Walter and Jean Kalberer Foundation Samuel H. Miller Foundation John P. Murphy Foundation Tom Murphy Dr. Vasu & Lisa Pandrangi and Family Carol and Walt Rosebrough State of Ohio Michael Talty and Helen Talty Charitable Trust Zubizarreta Family VISIONARIES Anonymous The Cleveland Foundation The Estate of Nancy Hansen The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation The Lubrizol Foundation MCPC Inc. Thomas F. Peterson Jr Charitable Trust PNC Stuart B. Reese Living Trust CHAMPIONS The Abington Foundation Anonymous GiGi Benjamin and Phil Woodcock Bicknell Fund Muffy and Jim Boland Mebby Brown and Kristen Spindel Dane and Dottie Carney The Cashy Family William E. Conway The Conway Family Foundation Jane G. Cunningham Foundation Ginny and Howard Essner Kristen and Tom Fistek Jim and Linda Francis Hanes Family Foundation Lawrence and Linda Hatch Amy and Tom Haught Robin Heiser The Hershey Foundation Stephen and Joanne Kirk Leveranz Fund, a Donor Advised Fund of Renaissance Charitable Foundation The Mistysyn Family Christine and Randy Myeroff Kevin and Lois Myeroff The James Parish Family David and Margo Petlowany Melinda Phinney Racey Family Albert and Audrey Ratner Sylvia and Robert Reitman Family Albert G. and Olive H. Schlink Foundation The Steffee Family Michael Talty and Helen Talty Charitable Trust The Thomas Family
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Tom and Dianne Tyrrell Joseph A. Urick Tom and Shirley Waltermire Karen Wilber PATRONS Anonymous (2) Carol A. Barnak Beeb Steve M. Began & Susan L. Herbold John and Susan Benedejcic Barbara Brown and Steve Ward Tom and Anita Cook Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities Robert and Karen Fein and Family Joy M. Freda Carol B. Hall Higley Construction The Higley Fund James and Marilyn Jaroszewski Nancy and Bernie Karr The Estate of Antonette J. Liskay Jill and Ken Marous Anthony and Mary Messina Barbara and Abraham Miller Dan and Marjorie Moore Gregg and Deanna Muresan Anna Nagy Brian and Cheryl O’Neill Shelly Peet and Robert Martinko The Perkins Charitable Foundation Thomas V.H.* and Iris* J. Vail Barbara Weiss CONSERVATORS Myles and Karen Abbott American Fundraising Foundation Coty and Jessica Franklin Drs. Adam and Jennifer Hechko Family Foundation Susan M. King The Estate of William L. Kish The Estate of Carl Lezius Eva and Rudolf Linnebach Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Mahovlic Ronald Sr. and Frances Mawaka Scott and Julie Mawaka Thomas and Ruth Meadows Lisa and David O’Brien Russell O’Rourke and Georgia Froelich Rob and Kris Rogers Mary Kay Schneider David and Mary Ellen Szamborski Steve and Sarah Taylor Theodore and Kristin Wagner WDM Architects Richard and Mary Lynn Wills Susan L. Zanetti and Dr. Christine Zirafi KEEPERS Anonymous Jane Anthony Cheryl Bailey Jules and Fran Belkin Carl and Dawn Black
Marilyn and Larry Blaustein Mark A. Brody Mr. Skip Cannon Community Fund Ohio Karen* and Doug Cooper Susan Daum James F. Dicke II Christine and Spencer Dieken Kent and Elaine Downing Bob and Ruthi Duale The Durham Family DVA Architecture Julie and Adrian Edgar Robert and Lindsay Elmore The Fox Family: Richard, Brian and Kevin Patricia and Timothy Gabb Patricia F. Giblin Elaine Good-Ross Rick and Mary Ann Greiner Charitable Fund Lindsay, Andrew and Peter Guzowski Scott and Marian Harmount William E. Harris Family Fund In memory of James E. Herrle, John Herrle, and Marie Herrle Jones Day Jessica M. Jung Marilyn and Rick Kay W. Paul Kithcart David and Hope Koncal Susan Krall E. Gary Laughlin and Mary Lynn Laughlin Tom and Kathy Leiden Ki and Tasha Mixon Beth E. Mooney Deanna and Joe Murlin Nancy E. Parks Dr. Julian L. Peskin and Ms. Anne Peskin Andrea, Anthony, Blair + Fallon Ponikvar The Rebholz Family Sally and Larry Sears The Antheia Fund at The Sears-Swetland Family Foundation Richard and Rhyna Sensiba Dr. Donald M. Shafer and Katherine Stokes-Shafer Jodi Shankweiler Tom and Becky Truelson The Van Auken Family The Vaughan Family The Brian and Jackie Welch Family Foundation Franz Welser-Möst and Angelika Möst Westfield Katie and Donald Woodcock Brian and Jill Zimmerman Martha H. Zlotnik SPECIAL GIFTS Ms. Sue Allen Anonymous The Estate of Betty E. Beauchamp Anne E. Bingham Chuck and Christy Bittenbender Blue Point Capital Partners
The Bottlehouse Brewery and Meadery Alana and Conor Coakley Alexandra and Chris Cottam Peter and Sue Danford Kay and Paul David Roxanne Decyk Kathy and Jim Donchess The Phyllis H. & William H. Evans Charitable Foundation Charley Geiger Ted and Nancy Goble Fund Charles and Rosemary Griffee Leigh and Eric Hall In Memory of Helen Miskovich Gregory and Whitney Hartman Thomas and Iris Harvie Robert and Alyce Hobbs Lisa and Tom Hunt Karen and John Kaminski Jonathan and Rosemary Kesselman Susan Kozak Charitable Fund Todd and Melissa Lawrence William B. and Mary Margaret Lawrence
Barbara and Richard Lederman Mark and Kimberly Levinson Lewis Family Fund James and Susan Massie Don and Sally Messinger Biserka Mikleus Ken and Sharon Mountcastle Nehez Family Kimberly Pinter Mr. and Mrs. Ron Plazek Russell Randazzo Catherine and Gregory Saluga Racheal and Alexander Seibert Sharon and James Skirbunt Jason and Sarah Taylor Mary E. Vantz Jack Wensink Sylvia Wildner and Sue Delaney Jody M. Wilson *deceased Gifts as of 7.7.26
CLEVELAND Z O O LO G I CA L SOCIETY PHILANTHROPY LEADERSHIP TEAM
Andrea Ponikvar Vice President of Philanthropy Cleveland Zoological Society Ponikvar@ClevelandZooSociety.org 216-635-3323
BY THE NUMBERS
Primate Forest will produce an estimated $218M in economic impact to Northeast Ohio. During peak construction years, the project will support nearly 1,300 jobs statewide and close to 1,000 jobs locally.
$218M
Nicole Stracensky Vice President of Strategic Projects Cleveland Zoological Society Stracensky@ClevelandZooSociety.org 216-635-3343
Learn more about Primate Forest at PrimateForest.org
ECONOMIC IMPACT IN NORTHEAST OHIO
1,000 JOBS LOCALLY
1,300 JOBS STATEWIDE
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C O N S T R U C T I O N U P DAT E
As the progress starts to match the renderings in this home stretch before opening, it’s thrilling to see the vision of Primate Forest come to life.
The Asian small-clawed otters are among the species receiving a habitat upgrade - a skylight will now allow natural light into the space.
Installation of donated trees from Davey Tree Expert Co.
Climbing elements are being installed as part of the orangutans’ outdoor habitat space.
There is paint on the walls in the Michael Talty and Helen Talty Charitable Trust Learning Gallery!
Renovated kitchens will offer fresh options for all appetites.
View a Construction Update at clevezoosociety.org/JuneUpdate
The “hero tree” is sure to be a focal point of the Connected Forest experience.