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Jeff Swanagan, former head of Florida Aquarium, dies at 51

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Jeff Swanagan left The Florida Aquarium to become the inaugural director of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

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By SARAH HOYE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 29, 2009

Updated: 06/29/2009 05:07 pm

Jeff Swanagan, executive director of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and former director of The Florida Aquarium, died Sunday at his home in Ohio from an apparent heart attack. He was 51.

Swanagan had been mowing the lawn. His wife, Suzy Holley, discovered him, and he was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus.

"Jeff was a great guy and a good friend," Thom Stork, president and CEO of The Florida Aquarium, said today. "This was totally out of the blue. I just spoke with him last week."

Swanagan was an Ohio native and graduate of Ohio State University. He started his career at the Columbus Zoo in 1979 before leaving for Zoo Atlanta in the 1980s.

Swanagan became director of The Florida Aquarium in Tampa in 1998 following a period of financial woes and disarray at the facility. He is credited with making it more successful by adding entertaining exhibits, shaving the budget and staff, and launching an eco-tour of Tampa Bay that gave passengers a glimpse of dolphins. The aquarium still offers the tour.

"Jeff, in great part, was responsible for getting the aquarium on the right course,"' Stork said. "He was an adviser to me, and I would call him often. He will be missed."

"Jeff came in and really healed a lot of broken connections," added Ilze Berzins, vice president of biological operations and an Aquarium veterinarian. "Tampa lost a good friend and someone very supportive of this community. This is a blow to the Aquarium family."

Swanagan left The Florida Aquarium in 2002 to become the inaugural director of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. He held the post in Atlanta thorough 2008.

Swanagan was "a dedicated educator whose passion for making a difference for wild things in wild places was evident through all of his work and leadership," Anthony Godfrey, president and chief operating officer of the Georgia Aquarium, said in a statement today.

Lowry Park Zoo officials, many of whom had worked with Swanagan on joint zoo and aquarium projects, learned of his death just before the grand opening of their koala exhibit.

"It is such a loss," said Craig Pugh, the zoo's acting chief executive officer. Pugh said Swanagan was known for his good humor, intelligence and his "unwavering commitment to the role zoos and aquariums play" in conservation and education.

Swanagan was passionate about his life's work and possessed a contagious enthusiasm for wildlife, said Debbi Stone, vice president of education at The Florida Aquarium.

"He was a very gentle soul who always had a smile on his face. He was just a very kind person," Stone said. "He gained respect through his good nature and kind manners; he was not your typical boss or manager."

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is known for its connection to celebrity veterinarian Jack Hanna. Hanna hired Swanagan in 1979 as a zookeeper and rehired him a year ago as director. Hanna said he hopes to build a stingray exhibit to honor Swanagan's love for the world's oceans.

"Jeff was like a son to me and I don't know when I will get over this," he said.

Swanagan is survived by his wife and five children.

A memorial will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Columbus Zoo. The funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday at New Hope Church in Columbus.

Information from reporter Lenora Lake and the Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Sarah Hoye can be reached at (813) 259-7832.

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