As Associate Vice President of Animal Care & Conservation, Mark Wanner is deeply committed to fostering a culture of conservation at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, inspiring teams to connect their daily animal care work to global conservation outcomes.
Wanner has devoted nearly 37 years to animal care and conservation, working across Association of Zoo and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited zoos and private facilities to develop deep expertise with a remarkable breadth of species—from the smallest amphibians to the largest terrestrial mammals. His work is driven by a steadfast belief that species conservation is only possible through integrated ex situ and in situ management, long-term collaboration, capacity building, and sustained, multi-generational local partnerships. Without these approaches, irreplaceable species will be lost.
Over the past two decades, Wanner has led and shaped numerous successful conservation initiatives. At Brookfield Zoo Chicago, for example, he has been integral to the development of leading pangolin care and conservation. He spearheaded and now leads AZA’s SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction Pangolin program and is a member of IUCN’s SSC Pangolin Specialist Group.
In his previous work as Assistant Director of the Saint Lous Zoo’s WildCare Institute Ron and Karen Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation, he managed the daily operations of a successful recovery program for Ozark and eastern hellbenders. In 2019, as Director of the Saint Louis Zoo’s WildCare Institute Conservation Program in Western Asia, he led the establishment of the first conservation breeding center in Western Asia dedicated to endangered vipers. Wanner also has field experience working with animals around the world, such as amphibians in Ecuador, vipers in Armenia, and with the Education team for Tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea.
His work has kept him well connected through AZA. He is on both the Marsupial & Monotreme TAG and the Pangolin, Aardvark & Xenarthra (PAX) TAG Steering Committees. St. Louis Zoo won the AZA Edward H. Bean Award in 2012 and was honored with AZA’s North American Conservation Award – Significant Achievement in 2016 for his work with hellbenders.
