SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo will vote on its next executive director on Oct. 27.
The Board of Directors will choose between Heidi L. Strong and Mark D. Irwin. Each candidate will need a majority of support from the board’s 19 members to be elected the next executive director.
Strong has served as the Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s Director of Development since 2020. She also has 20 years of experience managing major events at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y and the popular Harbor Festival in Oswego, N.Y.
Her resume cites reimagining the Friends’ fundraising strategies as one of her biggest accomplishments. She boasts increasing the Friends’ sponsorship revenue by 300% thanks to new sponsorship programs…