When Dr. Luis Padilla stepped into the role of president and CEO of Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in November, 2022, he felt he had come full circle.
“When I was in veterinary school in the ‘90s, this was one of the places aspiring vets would go because it’s always been such an innovative organization, focused on creating unique exhibits with animals that almost no one else had,” recalls Padilla. “I remember coming to a conference here 25 years ago and being blown away by the size of the Lied Jungle.”
Over the years, he’s returned many times — most recently in his former role as vice president of animal collections at the St. Louis Zoo — and he’s always had a professional admiration for the programs and staff at Omaha’s Zoo. “It’s really exciting and humbling to be leading an organization that the entire zoo world respects so much: from animal care to amazing education programs, to conservation, to the highly specialized staff here who are leaders in their field.”
“I Was Curious About All Things Animal”
Padilla always knew he wanted to work with animals. Growing up in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, he spent a lot of time with his grandfather who raised chickens and always had an abundance of birds, lizards, and wildlife around his home, “I felt a connection to the animals and I wanted to take care of them and learn more about them.”
He says he’ll never forget going to his local zoo and seeing a white rhino for the first time. “I had never seen anything like her: she was so magnificent, looking like a boulder: so big and strong and powerful, but mellow. I was the kid who went to the zoo and wanted to read everything — much to the dismay of my siblings who wanted to go, go, go. I was curious about all things animal.”
“Our Entire Lives Together Have Been Around Our Zoo Life”
Padilla’s curiosity led him to college and veterinary school at Cornell University, followed by a residency at the St. Louis Zoo, where he met his wife Elaine, who also worked there, but on the computer and network management side of things. Over the next ten years, he served as a vet at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden and Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute before returning to St. Louis to embark on the executive phase of his career. “Our entire lives together have been around our zoo life,” Padilla says of his marriage, recounting a guessing game he and Elaine used to play in his vet days. “All animals have a distinct smell, and Elaine could always tell which animals I’d been working with that day based on the way my clothes smelled when I came home.”
At one point, Padilla was caring for some lion cubs whose mother wasn’t producing enough milk to feed them, so he and Elaine took them into their home to give them round-the-clock care. They survived to adulthood and now have babies of their own. “They’re kind of celebrities on social media, so we still follow them,” says Padilla proudly. “It’s fun to think about Elaine and I taking care of them in our spare bedroom. I can’t imagine many partners who would do that, but Elaine took it all in stride.”
A bit of the couple’s former zoo life has even followed them to Omaha. Two pot-bellied pigs were transferred here from the St. Louis Zoo right around the time Padilla started his new post. “It was the last transaction I approved in my old position. We’re all here learning to cope with the colder weather together.”
When things warm up, the Padillas are looking forward to exploring the city’s neighborhoods a bit more and taking in some outdoor music and art festivals. They’re also planning their garden. “We’re interested in attracting native birds and wildlife to our garden and adding to the local ecosystem,” Padilla says, noting that he’s also excited to watch the Zoo grounds come to life with gardens and pollinators in the spring.
“You Can’t Talk About Omaha Without Talking About the Zoo”
When the couple were here looking for homes, Padilla found a t-shirt in a shop downtown with a picture of the Desert Dome on it that read, Oma-Dome. “I had to buy it,” he says. “It perfectly shows the pride that Omaha has for the Zoo, and how everyone wants to be a part of the Zoo’s success. You can’t talk about Omaha without talking about the Zoo.”
Padilla says he’s impressed by the robust support of the business and philanthropic communities of Omaha, as well as the generosity of private donors. He’s been meeting with leaders of other key organizations and businesses around town to find ways to strengthen their partnerships for the good of the community. “Besides being one of the country’s top zoological institutions, this is our city’s zoo and we’re all just here to take care of it and make it what the city needs it to be.”
“Creating Spaces for Great Things To Happen”
As he settles into his office overlooking the Bay Family Children’s Adventure Trails, Padilla’s immediate focus is on some projects that he inherited from his predecessor Dennis Pate, including the renovations of the Hubbard Orangutan Forest and the veterinary hospital at the Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park, and the opening of the Jurassic Adventure animatronic dinosaur exhibit this spring, also at the Wildlife Safari Park. He’s looking forward to exploring new ways that the Zoo can enhance education and conservation programming, and, of course, keep innovating new ways for visitors to engage with and learn about the animals and their ecosystems.
“We all have memories of our childhood when we went to a place that changed us. I want us to create spaces for things like that to happen,” Padilla says. “If people walk out of here having had a fun and memorable day, that’s great. If they walk out having had a fun experience and a better appreciation for the world’s animals and how we can better care for them, that’s perfect.”