John Berry
Director of the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park

John BerryJohn Berry is director of the National Zoological Park. As director of the National Zoo, Berry oversees both the 163-acre facility in Washington, D.C., and the 3,200-acre Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va. He reports directly to Charles Alcock, Acting Under Secretary for Science.

Established in 1889, the Zoo employs 240 people; its collection of 2,000 animals includes many rare and endangered species. The Zoo’s mission is to provide the highest quality animal care; advance scientific excellence in conserving wildlife; teach and inspire people to engage in conservation; and practice conservation leadership through sustainability.  The 2005 birth of a giant panda cub is an excellent example of one of the Zoo’s most successful research and conservation programs.

Berry is responsible for the public facility, which welcomes nearly three million visitors a year, and the research program, which includes groundbreaking work in conservation biology. Also under his purview are the fundraising and education programs coordinated by the Zoo’s membership organization (Friends of the National Zoo) and the completion of Elephant Trails, an extensive renovation of the Elephant House begun in 2006. The federal appropriation for the Zoo in fiscal year 2007 was $39 million.

Berry’s top priority for the Zoo is fire safety and preparedness, with inadequate current fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers and water lines in need of a dramatic overhaul. Under Berry’s watch, a thorough assessment of the Zoo’s current fire prevention system has been completed, and work has begun on improvements. In 2007, Berry led the Zoo in becoming a smoke-free facility in order to reduce the risk of fire in the park.   

In October 2007, Berry opened the Cheetah Science Facility at the Conservation and Research Center. It is the first new research facility to be built on the property in 22 years. The nine-acre facility is the center of the Zoo’s international cheetah research program in which scientists study cheetah biology to ensure good health, reproduction, and self-sustaining populations in zoos and in the wild.  

Berry also has taken steps to draw more visitors to the Zoo during times of the year when attendance has typically been lighter, such as in the winter months. In 2007, he created “ZooLights”, the National Zoo’s first-ever winter lights celebration. The event featured nearly 50 environmentally-friendly light sculptures of Zoo animals along with family-friendly activities. ZooLights was educational as well as entertaining: visitors learned about such things as the Zoo’s important conservation work and how animals adapt to cold weather.     

Berry is also currently guiding the National Zoo through a comprehensive master planning process to identify facilities and infrastructure needs at both its Washington, D.C., campus and the Conservation and Research Center. Many of the facilities have become outdated and no longer meet the needs of the visitors, staff, animal exhibit and research collections, and research programs. Berry instituted a bold new ten-year strategic plan to make the National Zoo the world’s finest zoo by 2016, and he reorganized the Zoo’s structure so that goal can be met more efficiently. 

Previously, Berry was executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the nation’s wildlife resources. He managed an annual operating budget of $9.5 million and a 75-member staff in six regional centers. During his five-year tenure, Berry overhauled the foundation’s financial systems and developed a strategic plan for the organization. In the past 20 years, the foundation has distributed more than $300 million in grants for the conservation of fish, wildlife and plants. He reported to a 25-member board of directors appointed by the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Prior to joining the Wildlife Foundation, Berry served as Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget at the Interior Department for three years (1997-2001), a position that required Senate confirmation. During his tenure, the agency’s budget increased from $7 billion to $10 billion, and he developed a presidential initiative known as the “Lands Legacy.”

This is not the first time Berry has worked at the Smithsonian. He was director of government relations and a senior policy advisor from 1995 to 1997, reporting to Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman and Under Secretary Constance Berry Newman. During that time, Berry helped secure federal funds for the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Air and Space Museum’s Hazy Center. He left to become Assistant Secretary at the Interior Department.

From 1985 until 1994, Berry served as legislative director for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and as associate staff for the House Appropriations Committee during those same years.

Berry, who lives in northwest Washington, earned a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland, summa cum laude, in 1980 and a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University in 1981.

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