Meet The Aquarium Director - February - John Nightingale, Vancouver Aquarium

Name: John Nightingale

Actual title: President and CEO

Name of your zoo or aquarium: Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Center

URL for your facility: www.vanaqua.org

Number of species at your facility: 6,000 approx.

Your favorite critter at the facility: Sea Otters (many of our visitors’ favorite) and Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers – a cool, “golf ball” sized and shaped cold-water marine fish with small fins that have to go like 60 just to hover, with the coolest iridescent cobalt blue eyes!

Total number of animals or fish at your facility: 70,000 approx.

Number of visitors annually: 940,000 approx. (2008)

Number of employees: 411 (2008)

Number of volunteers: 895 (2008)

Annual budget: $23 million

Degree(s): B.A. Biology – Eastern Oregon University
M.S. Fisheries Biology – University of Washington
Ph.D. Physiology – University of Washington

Experience prior to this position:
Founding General Curator – Seattle Aquarium – 1976-1982
Principle BIOS:Inc. – 1982-1988
President Maui Ocean Center – 1988-1990
Assistant Director New York Aquarium – 1990-1993
President and CEO Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre 1993-present

Favorite part of your job: Seeing public engagement in conservation and sustainability increase dramatically

One dream wish for your facility: To complete the Vancouver Aquarium's expansion of both our Arctic Canada exhibit and BC Wild Coast gallery

Family: Wife, 3 grown children, 2 grandchildren

Pets at home: 1 cat, and some miscellaneous fish in the backyard pond

When you retire, you plan to: Keep finding new ways to communicate with, and engage ordinary people in changing perspective and practices to help conserve the aquatic and marine environments – writing, speaking, and continued work with cultural institutions – zoos and aquariums.