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Staff profile:
Meg Gammage-Tucker, PhD, CFRE
Chief Advancement Officer
by Rachel MacNabb
Locals and zoo historians remember the mid-1980s as one of
the most dramatic periods of conversion, modernization and
reform at Zoo Atlanta. It was the time of “Worst to First,” an
era of a Zoo renamed, a Zoo reborn.
Meg Gammage-Tucker, the Zoo’s new Chief Advancement
Officer, isn’t a local or a zoo historian. She values the example
set by the events of the 1980s – proof of the institution’s ability
to emerge not only viable but strikingly reinvented – but is
focused on the days yet to come. In other words, it’s time
for the Zoo’s next great era.
“Zoo Atlanta can’t stand on its own laurels. We’ve proven how
far we can come,” she says. “Supporting the Zoo today means
something else entirely. Now, it’s about making an investment in
the city and a better future for us all.”
Love of wildlife is a family affair for Gammage-Tucker. Her husband,
Aaron Cleveland, runs Indiana Wild, an animal conservation
education company. Her own domestic menagerie includes seven
animals: an Irish wolfhound; a rescued German shepherd/Great
Dane puppy; two cats; and five birds. And if she was looking for
an animal-friendly neighborhood, she moved to the right place:
she’s a proud resident of Grant Park.
“There’s a real need to convince people living in the metro
Atlanta area that Grant Park isn’t the other side of the universe.
It’s just a few minutes from Downtown,” she says. “Yes, it’s
historic and charming, but it’s also one of the most beautiful and
revitalized parts of the city when it comes to parklands, restaurants
and tourism … with the Zoo right here in the middle.”
Looking ahead, Gammage-Tucker believes that the Zoo’s
historic success with Atlanta’s key philanthropic organizations and
its long-standing place in its community will be important building
blocks in the organization’s next decade: a future where
established relationships continue to be nurtured, but new ones
spring up alongside them in a city ready to stand behind one of
its most valuable assets.
“It’s easy, because I get excited about what I do,” she explains.
“I can help individuals and organizations make an investment in a
great thing. I can help people fulfill personal passions for wildlife
and conservation by helping them to understand that they can
fulfill those passions right here at Zoo Atlanta.”
And what of those Atlantans who haven't visited the Zoo in
10 or 20 years, or never at all? For Meg Gammage-Tucker,
that’s easy, too.
“Give us one chance. Come just one time,” she says. “You’ll be
amazed.”
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The primary force behind the organization’s first major capital
campaign in 13 years, Gammage-Tucker is a vigorous champion
of the milestones ahead. In her own words, the new reptile and
amphibian complex will “catapult the Zoo in the community.”
The new veterinary clinic will be a “showcase of the evolution
of our organization.”
With terms like “catapult,” “showcase,” and “evolution,” it’s
impossible not to be inspired by the infectious excitement
Gammage-Tucker exudes when she previews what’s in store
for Atlanta’s oldest cultural institution. It’s equally hard not to
be impressed by her background, spanning more than 28 years
of professional fundraising with campaign goals of as much as
$300 million. A Certified Fundraising Executive, she has served
as President of The Rhino Trust and Director of Institutional
Advancement for the Indianapolis Zoo Society. Her career also
includes leadership positions at numerous arts and cultural
institutions, as well as 18 years teaching at Indiana University’s
Center on Philanthropy, where she still serves on the faculty.
Gammage-Tucker certainly looks outstanding on paper, but it
takes a firm believer in a mission to inspire others to support
that mission. She is a passionate supporter of the Zoo’s roles
and responsibilities on the conservation front, believing, as do
many others, that only through these activities can zoos retain
relevance in an ever-changing world.
“The number one thing that attracted me to Zoo Atlanta was
the conservation work,” she recalls. “There’s incredible work being
done here. We need to tell these stories, locally and internationally,
not just about the quality of care being provided for the
animals here, but about the depth of our commitment
to influencing the things that are happening in the wild.”
In many cases, “the wild” includes places she has visited firsthand,
with multiple trips to Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and
Egypt. Yet while her work has taken her from the world-famous
flamingos of Lake Nakuru all the way to the nationally-respected
Chilean flock in Zoo Atlanta’s Flamingo Plaza, her original career
goals had more to do with human societies. She double-majored
in sociology and anthropology and, as a teen, lived on the Leech
Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota – experiences that
would shape a lifelong appreciation for Native American culture.
“Part of conservation is harmony with nature, striving for balance,”
she believes, “with the sense that the animals are just as important
as we are to that balance.”
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