Dr. Chris Kuhar has served as Executive Director of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo since January 2013, managing the Zoo's extensive animal collection and overseeing the daily operations of the 183-acre facility that attracts over one million guests each year. As only the tenth director in the Zoo’s over 140-year history, he has overseen significant transformation of the Zoo including the additions of the Ben Gogolick Giraffe Encounter, Rosebrough Tiger Passage, Asian Highlands, Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve, Eagle Zip Adventure, Susie’s Bear Hollow and the Zoo’s largest capital project to date – the Primate Forest.
Since joining Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in 2008, he has also served as Curator of Primates and Small Mammals and Curator of Animals. Prior to returning to Cleveland, Chris was a Research Manager at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Graduate Research Assistant at Zoo Atlanta and Research Assistant at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo from 1997 to 2000.
In addition to his leadership in Cleveland, Chris also served seven years on the Board of Directors of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which oversees more than 230 accredited zoological facilities across the world, including serving as the Chair of the Board in 2020. During his career Chris has also served as the Chair of the AZA Animal Welfare Committee and the AZA Research and Technology Committee, as well as serving on multiple Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs) and Species Survival Plans (SSPs), and is a five-time mentor to the AZA Executive Leadership Development Program. Locally, Chris was a member of the 2014 Leadership Cleveland class and the 2016 LC2 class. He currently serves on the Ohio Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land.
Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Akron in 1997, his Master of Science in zoology from Oklahoma State University in 2000 and his doctorate in experimental psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2004.