Chris Pfefferkorn Celebrates 70 Years of the Birmingham Zoo
President Jeff Stone and President-Elect Nancy Goedecke with Chris Pfefferkorn
This week, the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed Chris Pfefferkorn, President and CEO of the Birmingham Zoo. Pfefferkorn shared the zoo’s history, impact, and vision as it celebrates 70 years in the community.
He highlighted the zoo’s unique role as Alabama’s only accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, serving more than 500,000 visitors annually and investing over $8.5 million in the local economy last year. He shared that the zoo also reaches more than 85,000 children through educational programs, including field trips, camps, and international connections with students in Zimbabwe.
Pfefferkorn outlined a $30 million capital campaign to modernize facilities, expand conservation programs, and create new habitats. Planned projects include a teaching veterinary hospital, outdoor orangutan exhibit, and expanded spaces for lions and tigers. Pfefferkorn emphasized the zoo’s mission of inspiring passion to conserve the natural world while continuing to enhance guest experiences for families across Alabama and beyond.
Bio for Chris Pfefferkorn
Chris Pfefferkorn, President and CEO of the Birmingham Zoo, has over 30 years of Zoological experience in five Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Zoos. Examples of his experience includes serving as the Senior Vice President of the Birmingham Zoo, Deputy Director of Living Collections at Oregon Zoo, General Curator at Oregon Zoo, and General Curator at Ellen Trout Zoo. Chris currently serves as a Board Member on the AZA Board of Directors and is a past Chair of the AZA Ethics Board. He serves as liaison AZA’s Accreditation Commission and the Animal Welfare Committee.
Chris has spent his career dedicated to animal welfare and conservation devoting himself to conservation and education initiatives including the Chipangali Large Carnivore Project in Zimbabwe. This collaborative research project, with the Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage, is focused on Leopard and Brown Hyena research and conservation near the Matopos National Park. Chris also helped Chipangali to establish the Environmental Programs Involving Children (EPIC Kids) education program for rural children to teach them about the value of the natural world around them.
Chris earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois and began his career, as a zoo keeper, at the Glen Oak Zoo in 1989. In addition to his degree, Chris has completed numerous professional development courses through the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), including the AZA Executive Leadership Development Program, a program designed to train the next generation of zoological executive leaders.
Pfefferkorn, a veteran, lives in Birmingham Alabama with his wife Teresa and they have 5 children. Pfefferkorn is a Rotarian with the Shades Valley Rotary Club.