Ron Forman

Who is Ron Forman?

Ron Forman is the head of the Audubon Nature Institute and was one of the leading candidates in the New Orleans mayoral election, 2006. A past president of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, Ron Forman began his tenure with Audubon Park and Zoological Garden in l972 as City Hall liaison. Made Deputy Director in l973 and Executive Director in l977, the major transformation of Audubon Zoo from an "urban ghetto" to an "urban Eden" was underway.

During the 80's, the Audubon Nature Institute, Inc. evolved from the Friends of the Zoo organization and assumed operation of Audubon Park and Zoo. Plans were made, with overwhelming voter support, for a downtown park and aquarium. Woldenberg Riverfront Park opened in l989 and was followed in l990 by the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.

The Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center on the West Bank of the Mississippi River opened late in l993. An important component of it, the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species, opened in l996.

The Audubon Louisiana Nature Center, located in Eastern New Orleans, merged into the family of Audubon facilities in l994. The Nature Center, devastated by Hurricane Katrina, operates the programs at the Audubon Wilderness Park located adjacent to the Species Survival Center.