The Wilds
The Wilds is a private, non-profit conservation center located on nearly 10,000 acres of reclaimed mine land in rural southeastern Ohio. It was created as the conservation center of the future by a group of civic leaders, political leaders and zoo professionals who believed that a serious scientific approach was required to find solutions to environmental concerns.
From its inception, the Wilds has been envisioned as a facility that combines cutting-edge conservation science and education programs with unique visitor opportunities.
Rob served as the COO of The Wilds from 2004 to 2011. In that time he was able to accomplish the following goals:
Exceeded operating revenue by over $750,000 on a budget of $4.5M and ended 2011 - $700,000 under budget
Designed and constructed $3.2M Conservation Center, $2.1M Conservation Science Training Center, $700,000 Operations Support Center, $800,000 Nomad Ridge—all utilizing certified green building practices
Engineered 6 unique visitor opportunities to increase attendance up 30,000 patrons annually by 2011
Raised per capita spending for visitors from $12.00 in 2004 to over $39.00 in 2011
Directly led the writing and procurement of over $3M in local, state, and federal capital grants
Check out the Wilds website! Click here
