The head of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History has resigned.
Cristian Samper announced Monday that he plans to become president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, which runs the world’s largest system of urban wildlife parks, including the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium and Central Park Zoo. He will serve at the Smithsonian through July.
Samper has led the Smithsonian’s natural history museum since 2003, home to the world’s largest collection of natural history specimens and artifacts. During his tenure, he raised more than $150 million for the museum and oversaw renovations to exhibits devoted to mammals, oceans and human origins.
He previously served as staff scientist and deputy director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and is co-founder of the Web-based Encyclopedia of Life, a global project to expand knowledge of life on Earth.
