Ricardo Stanoss, D.V.M, is the Head of the Center for Learning Innovation at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Dr. Stanoss leads a team of educators and scientists in the developing and implementation of cutting-edge learning experiences to develop the capacity for conservation action for a wide audience in the Washington, D.C. area, nationally, and internationally. 

Dr. Stanoss is responsible for all the activities at the Center for Learning Innovation. This includes the volunteer program, public education programs, school programs and distance learning programs. Additional learning experiences are being developed to increase the conservation capacity among a wide variety of audiences, including children, emerging leaders and conservation practitioners.

Before this position, Dr. Stanoss was the academic program manager at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation. Dr. Stanoss worked in grassroots conservation in Latin America with rural and indigenous communities. Before arriving at the Smithsonian, he ran an innovative conservation capacity development program at a zoo in the Chicago area. During his career path as a passionate conservationist and educator, Dr. Stanoss amassed significant experience in creating, implementing and evaluating novel conservation capacity initiatives, developing successful collaborations with academia, NGOs, government agencies and communities across vastly different cultures around the world.

Dr. Stanoss graduated as a veterinarian at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. After briefly working with dairy cows, he migrated to the U.S. where he became interested in wildlife conservation and what makes it possible. Through his work in the U.S. and around the world, Dr. Stanoss gradually expanded his interests from the animals he loves to the individuals who could make a difference in conservation.