New director coming back to zoo for second time

In 1991, Mark Reed made one of his first hires as the new director of the Sedgwick County Zoo.

Six people were finalists to be the zoo’s herpetology curator, and Reed knew five of them. But the sixth “blew away” everyone in the interview process, he said.

“He was passionate, enthusiastic, had great people skills and there was no question that he was an upcoming herpetologist,” Reed said.

He was hired, worked in Wichita for several years and then left for a job in St. Louis.

Now Jeff Ettling is returning to the Sedgwick County Zoo.

Ettling, the St. Louis Zoo’s curator of herpetology and aquatics for 20 years, was announced Wednesday as the next executive director of the Sedgwick County Zoo, the largest outdoor attraction in the state. He will start May 22.

He replaces Reed, who retired in December after 25 years as director.

“I feel really honored to come back and help lead the zoo forward,” Ettling said. “It feels natural for me to come back to Wichita.”

Ettling will be the zoo’s third director in its 45-year history. His annual salary will be $125,000.

‘A great opportunity’

Ettling grew up on the Illinois side of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Amphibious animals like turtles and salamanders fascinated him from an early age – particularly snakes.

“They’ve been getting a bad rap since basically the beginning of time,” Ettling said. “They’re just misunderstood because they have a different body.”

Ettling got bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His first job in the late 1980s was as a herpetology keeper at the St. Louis Zoo.

Then he found what sounded like a great opportunity at the Sedgwick County Zoo.

He was hired as the zoo’s herpetology curator in 1991, the same year Reed took over as executive director for R.L. Blakely, the zoo’s founder and original director.

Ettling called working with Reed a “real treat.”

“He’s just one of the most enthusiastic zoo people I know,” Ettling said. “I couldn’t ask for better mentors in my zoo career.”

Ettling returned to St. Louis several years later, where he has been the herpetology and aquatics curator since 1996.

Reed said he and Ettling kept in touch, trading visits over the years.

“I’m very excited and pleased he’ll be the next director of the zoo,” Reed said. “I think he’ll do a fantastic job.”

‘The right zoo’

Ettling said it was a fairly easy decision to take a job in Wichita after more than two decades in St. Louis. He called it part of the natural evolution of his career path.

“I have the knowledge about how a zoo operates and what it takes,” Ettling said. “I’m in a position now in my career where I can go and lead a zoo.”

Ettling said that after he reacquaints himself with the Sedgwick County Zoo, he wants to look at improving exhibits like those that house the zoo’s giraffes, rhinos and reptiles.

“Those … stand out since they were built early in the zoo’s existence,” Ettling said. “I really want to capitalize on what the zoo already has.”

Ettling said he was excited to lead a zoo that has “tremendous public support.”

“That’s a great feeling that you have that kind of community support,” Ettling said. “I wouldn’t move just anywhere. It would have to be the right zoo to go to.”

Zoo board, county reaction

The zoo is run by a public-private partnership between Sedgwick County government and the Zoological Society, a nonprofit volunteer board. Under the zoo’s operating agreement, both sides must agree on the hiring of an executive director.

Zoo board president Mark DeVries said in a statement the zoo board was excited to “welcome Jeff back.”

“His decades of experience in curator and zoo management positions, including animal husbandry, safety, budget development and oversight, strategic planning and more will guide the Sedgwick Country Zoo to our next successful era,” DeVries said.

Assistant County Manager of Public Services Tim Kaufman said a search committee formed last September after Reed announced his retirement in August was impressed by Ettling’s decades of experience.

Ettling was chosen from four finalists. The hiring wasn’t official until county commissioners approved it during their meeting on Wednesday. It was a 5-0 vote after about five minutes of discussion.

This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 9:55 AM with the headline "New director coming back to zoo for second time."