Living Desert President to Join San Diego Zoo in January

The Living Desert's president and CEO is leaving in January to work for the organization that operates the San Diego Zoo, it was announced today.

Stacey Johnson, who worked for the Living Desert for four years, will become director of collections for San Diego Zoo Global, which also operates the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.


Johnson is also the species survival plan coordinator and jaguar studbook keeper for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, according to Living Desert spokeswoman Nyla Patzner.

Under Johnson's tenure, the park opened the Miriam U. Hoover Discovery Center, a building with hands-on exhibits, in 2010 and last year added "Wildlife on Wheels,'" which brings Living Desert animals to schools and other locations. In 2011, Johnson was instrumental' in bringing a female jaguar to the zoo, Patzner said.

At San Diego Zoo Global, Johnson will oversee the zoological collection and how exhibitions support the organization's mission.

-- City News Service