SAN DIEGO (Oct. 28, 2021) — The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) has named Paul A. Baribault, president and chief executive officer of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, as chairman of its board of directors. Baribault has until this change served in the capacity as vice chairman of the board. In moving to this new volunteer role, he will continue to support the mission of Dr. Goodall, further serving and supporting the executive director, Anna Rathmann, offering insights, guidance, perspective, inspiration, and oversight, while acting to the best of his ability as an ambassador of hope and helping to make Dr. Goodall’s vision of the future become a reality.
“I am pleased to celebrate my dear friend Paul Baribault as the new chair of the board for the Jane Goodall Institute,” Goodall said. “As the leader of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, one of the top conservation organizations globally, Paul has a valuable perspective on the powerful and unique role zoos play in global conservation. Paul understands what great conservation outcomes look like, and brings an aspirational vision to help organizations reach their true potential as we all work together to improve the lives of people, animals and the environment.”
Over the last six decades, the Jane Goodall Institute has worked to solidify Dr. Goodall’s vision and support her life’s work by rallying individuals to save the natural world. The organization is known internationally for primate conservation, establishing and maintaining the longest-running study of wild chimpanzees. Through critical work in Gombe, Tanzania, Dr. Goodall was able to shed international light on the importance of conserving the species, while including the needs of local people and the overall environment.
As an avowed conservationist, Baribault has built strong ties with organizations dedicated to protecting wildlife around the globe. Currently, he serves as president and chief executive officer of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and is leading the 105-year-old conservation organization into a new era of wildlife protection that focuses on global health and the interconnectedness of human, wildlife and habitat health.
Baribault is a member of the Executive Committee of Jackson Wild, a conservation summit and wildlife film festival; and previously was executive chair of The Aspen Institute High Seas Initiative. In his work as vice president and general manager of Disneynature, he pioneered the development of conservation projects tied to films, collaborating with leading nonprofits to plant millions of trees and help protect millions of acres for wildlife worldwide.
“Jane has been an inspiration to me in ways I will never quite be able to put into words,” Baribault said. “From the minute we met back in 2011, I had no idea the journey our meeting would put me on, and I am still amazed to this day to be able to consider her a dear friend. It has been an honor to serve on her board and incredibly humbling to be asked to become her Chair. Jane’s vision of hope is a powerful call to action for all of us to be of service to the planet and inspire the next generation, in any way each of us can.”
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About Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute
In July 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in present-day Tanzania. Her work at Gombe Stream would become the foundation of future primatological research and redefine the relationship between humans and animals. In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute, which continues the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. The Institute is widely recognized for innovative, community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian youth program.
Dr. Goodall founded Roots & Shoots with a group of Tanzanian students in 1991. Today, Roots & Shoots is active in more than 60 countries and since its inception has greatly impacted participants of all ages in over 100 countries. All of whom take action to make the world a better place for people, animals, and the environment. For the past 30 years, Dr. Goodall has been speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees, other environmental crises, and her reasons for hope that humankind will solve the problems it has imposed on the earth.
Dr. Goodall’s honors include the French Legion of Honor, the Medal of Tanzania, the Tang Prize, the Templeton Prize, and Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize. In 2002, Dr. Goodall was appointed to serve as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and in 2003, she was named a Dame of the British Empire.
For more information about Dr. Goodall and the work of the Jane Goodall Institute, please visit janegoodall.org.
About San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is a nonprofit international conservation leader, committed to inspiring a passion for nature and creating a world where all life thrives. The Alliance empowers people from around the globe to support their mission to conserve wildlife through innovation and partnerships. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance supports cutting-edge conservation and brings the stories of their work back to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park—giving millions of guests, in person and virtually, the opportunity to experience conservation in action. The work of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance extends from San Diego to strategic and regional conservation “hubs” across the globe, where their strengths—via their “Conservation Toolbox,” including the renowned Wildlife Biodiversity Bank—are able to effectively align with hundreds of regional partners to improve outcomes for wildlife in more coordinated efforts. By leveraging these tools in wildlife care and conservation science, and through collaboration with hundreds of partners, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has reintroduced more than 44 endangered species to native habitats. Each year, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s work reaches over 1 billion people in 150 countries via news media, social media, their websites, educational resources and the San Diego Zoo Kids channel, which is in children’s hospitals in 13 countries. Success is made possible by the support of members, donors and guests to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, who are Wildlife Allies committed to ensuring All Life Thrives.
