Fred Saigh Director of Education at the St. Louis Zoo

Louise Bradshaw, Fred Saigh Director of Education at Saint Louis Zoo, leads a passionate team of conservation educators connecting to over 2 million people annually and inspiring them to care deeply for our planet. With a BS in Biology and an MS Ed in Education, she has worked in the fields of conservation and conservation education for over 30 years.

Louise is responsible for all activities of the Zoo’s Education Department. These functions include education programs and services for teachers, adults, youth, school groups, scout groups, summer camp, and young children, including the Zoo’s nature-based pre-school and families; the Zoo’s Interpretation unit including traveling and permanent exhibits; the Teacher Resource Center and Zoo Reference Library; Conservation Education Liaisons, NSF and other federal informal education grant-funded programs, and the Zoo’s 220 Docents, or volunteer teachers and 75 teen volunteers. Her areas of interest include community conservation efforts locally and internationally, including school-based initiatives and teacher training programs, effective approaches to human subject research at zoos and aquariums, including fostering empathy and positive health effects of zoo experiences and models for increasing scientific and environmental literacy, most recently focusing on climate change literacy and communication. Louise has been an employee of the Saint Louis Zoo since 1984. Louise is currently a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Research and Technology Committee, has served as a member and advisor to the AZA Conservation Education Committee and AZA Climate Change Task Force, and as an education liaison to the Meso-American Caribbean Conservation Action Partnership and is past chair of the Regional Program Committee of the AZA. She has served as a peer-reviewer for IMLS Museums for America, AZA Conservation Grants, Saint Louis Zoo Field Conservation Grants, Zoo Biology, International Zoo Yearbook, and Curator. She served for ten years as an instructor and course administrator for the AZA-sponsored Conservation Education Training Course for Zoo educators.