Recipients Gallery

Saint Louis Zoo

331 Employees | Established in 1904

Conserving animals and their habitats through animal management, research, recreation, and educational programs that encourage the support and enriching the experience of the public.

Mission Statement

The Dana Brown Charitable Trust and the Saint Louis Zoo have enjoyed a long partnership of transforming the future. Through extraordinary foresight and vision, the Trust has enabled the Zoo to make significant strides toward fulfilling its mission: To conserve animals and their habitats through animal management, research, recreation and educational programs that encourage the support and enrich the experience of the visitor.

  • 1997 – Dana Brown Lords of the Forest elephant habitat in River’s Edge
  • 2002 – Dana Brown Orangutan Reserve at the Fragile Forest
  • 2005 – Student Intern Research & Study Center at the Orthwein Animal Nutrition Center
  • 2008 – Dana Brown President & CEO endowed and named position

The Dana Brown Charitable Trust and the Saint Louis Zoo are forever linked through the community we serve and the work we undertake. The Zoo is grateful for the generosity and leadership afforded us by the Trust.

Impact

In 1997 and again in 2002, the Dana Brown Charitable Trust provided funding to the Zoo’s capital campaign, ensuring that charismatic species like the Asian elephant and the Sumatran orangutan were provided for with expanded exhibit space and state-of-the-art management facilities. Understanding the important role these animals undertake as representatives of their threatened species and as strategic educational partners within the Zoo, the Trust helps support the important work of species protection and wildlife conservation. Today, millions of Zoo visitors enjoy viewing these animals at the Dana Brown Lords of the Forest elephant habitat in River’s Edge and the Dana Brown Orangutan Reserve in Fragile Forest.

The support of the Trust continued in 2006 when funding provided important resources for the staff and interns of the Zoo’s Animal Nutrition Center. Napoleon once said that an army marches on its stomach – and the same could be said for the Zoo. Proper nutrition and diet are essential to being and remaining a world leader in animal management and conservation. The office, study and research space in this building provides necessary opportunities for staff and interns to learn, discover, understand and apply their knowledge to be exceptional caretakers of over 18,000 animals at the Zoo.

In a unique and pioneering philanthropic display, the Dana Brown Charitable Trust made the position of Zoo President & CEO one of the first endowed positions in any U.S. zoo in 2008. Besides linking the legacy of their admired founder with the top position at the Saint Louis Zoo, the Trust enabled the Zoo to secure its future financial commitments through this gift. The important position of the Dana Brown President & CEO of the Saint Louis Zoo now carries an equally prestigious title.