Fund-Raiser to Be New President of Zoo Association

Veteran fund-raiser Susan Rice has been selected as president and chief executive officer of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., a spokeswoman for the city’s largest nonprofit support group said on Monday.

Rice, 52, will direct all activities of the 135,000-member organization, which is responsible for fund-raising and concession operations at the 25-year-old Los Angeles Zoo, said Camron Cooper, chairman of GLAZA’s Board of Trustees.

She will also help craft fund-raising activities for a 10-year master plan, approved by city parks officials in January, which calls for spending $300 million on major improvements in the zoo’s deteriorating compounds and infrastructure, Cooper said.

“My first priority is to bring all the diverse interests who care about the zoo together,” said Rice, who officially assumes her new position on May 1. “The city of Los Angeles and the GLAZA board (are) very committed to making that happen.”

Rice, who has a doctorate in education from Pepperdine University, was selected from a field of 50 applicants from across the nation to replace Bruce A. Nasby as president of the nonprofit group. It is a paid position, but GLAZA officials declined to say how much Rice will earn.

She most recently served as vice president of development at Business Executives for National Security, a Washington-based organization advocating effective national security. Before that, Rice was deputy director of marketing for Special Olympics International, also in Washington.

Her husband, Donald B. Rice, is currently the secretary of the Air Force and has served as president of the RAND Corp.