Michael Beglinger oversees planning, exhibits, facilities, life support systems at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. He is responsible for oversight, guidance and planning and works closely with the operations, maintenance and construction teams on large-scale projects, such as the Zoo’s Bird House. 

Beglinger was most recently a senior engineer at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, but has worked with numerous other Smithsonian Museums and labs over the past 14 years. Prior to that he worked as a project manager and an engineer at several commercial construction firms across the D.C. region. 

He received his bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and has since completed the Executive Leadership Development Program at the University of Texas, Austin. Michael Beglinger is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Association of Zoos Facilities and Aquariums, International Association of Museums Facilities, and the Construction Industry Institute.