New CEO Cassandra Costello is charged with revitalizing the 97-year-old west-side attraction — an $8.5 million city loan could help
Cassandra Costello became the leader at the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens in February at a very challenging moment for the 97-year-old institution. As detailed in a highly critical report released this month by The City’s Budget and Legislative Analyst, the zoo had been running deficits, millions of dollars had been spent without proper authorization, past management practices were substandard, zoo facilities were dilapidated and staff members complained of a “toxic” work environment.
But Costello already appears to be helping turn the ship around, with employees reporting “an overall more positive and optimistic perception” of leadership, which they said was “more open, communicative, and proactive than the previous leadership,” the auditors found, though they reported that “repairing the workplace culture and rebuilding trust will require time and sustained effort. ” “We’re going to be providing an irresistible vision for people to get excited about, and I think that’s going to be a way to really energize people to invest in the zoo,” Costello said.
“We are launching new initiatives, reconnecting with the public in new ways — new offerings, programs, special events. ” To support that trend and keep the zoo functioning until it gets fiscally healthier, The City might soon authorize a loan of up to $8.5 million to the nonprofit San Francisco Zoological Society, which runs the zoo under a lease and management agreement with The City.
Much is riding on the prospect of a loan of giant pandas from China, meanwhile, with hopes high for a flood of zoo visitors coming from near and far.
“Collaborative” talks have been ongoing with Chinese officials, said Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whose District 7 includes the zoo and who has been spearheading the loan initiative. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel here,” Melgar said Wednesday during a hearing before the Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Finance Committee about the loan proposal. “We must partner together to make sure that we are successful.
” Melgar, who said her three daughters attended zoo camp, was the one who requested the audit, which she said in an interview showed the zoo had been “poorly run,” though she said she was glad it found the zoo’s animals had received good care.
“The zoo is a very important institution for San Francisco, but it’s also really important for the economy of the west side,” she told her colleagues. “It brings visitors from the downtown core to the west side, and then they stay and eat in our restaurants and engage with our residents. ” Costello took the helm after a tumultuous period that led to the resignation of former zoo head Tanya Peterson last summer.
A former city official and executive at San Francisco Travel, The City’s destination-marketing agency, Costello is now the Zoological Society’s CEO and executive director. She joined as chief operating officer in August of 2025 and immediately became interim co-CEO. She had previously been deputy director of property for city parks and a chief of staff to two supervisors.
Mayor Daniel Lurie hailed her appointment when it was announced, and multiple people connected with the zoo testified Wednesday to increasing optimism since Costello’s arrival.
“I can honestly say I’ve never felt as hopeful for our future as I have since the current leadership started last year,” said Patrick Schlemmer, the zoo’s director of global conservation and a longtime employee. “I think that we are now on track to make the San Francisco Zoo a world class institution.
” The audit said the primary cause of the Zoological Society’s growing structural deficit has been decreasing attendance, a dynamic that was exacerbated by a lack of investment in marketing, educational programming and other strategies to improve the guest experience, such as repairing signs. It said that overall zoo attendance declined by 170,236 visitors, or 22%, between fiscal year 2018-19 and FY 2024-25.
Between FY 2018-19 and FY 2024-25, operating revenues decreased 11%, from $22.3 million to $19.8 million, while operating expenditures increased from 14%, from $24.5 million to $27.8 million, the audit said. Meanwhile, it said, the Zoological Society’s operating deficit grew by $5.8 million — from $2.2 million to $8 million.
To cover its annual operating deficits, the organization relied on nonoperating revenue sources — many of which are highly variable and one-time, such as federal COVID-19 relief and estate bequests — and it has also drawn on its investment reserves, the report said.
“Hopefully we can bring more people to the zoo and find ways to drive attendance and revenue,” Costello said in an interview. “This is a time for people to lean in to support our beloved zoo, to believe in the future of the zoo. ” Melgar called Costello “a breath of fresh air,” and said she “did all of the right things in terms of crunching the numbers and being transparent with their financials.
” Previous zoo leadership had been “antagonistic” to the audit process, but Costello has been the opposite, said Melgar, who called the audit “a roadmap to success. ” Ex // Top Stories Local experts concerned about future of abortion pill Despite a temporary stay maintaining access to mifepristone through telehealth, reproductive care and legal specialists say access will become an issue Reports paint varied pictures of tax hike’s effects as Prop.
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“I’m positive they can do it. ” Costello was upbeat about her new role, outlining various initiatives to strengthen the zoo’s operations and its conservation and education mission, and to attract more visitors — for instance, with an upcoming animatronic dinosaur display. As the zoo approaches its centennial, Costello said, “It’s a really exciting time to think about, what does the next 100 years look like?
“ Costello said she was excited to be launching “a strategic and business planning effort, as well as a master plan. ” “We’re all rowing in the same direction, and it feels really good to have this tangible momentum,” she said.
“We appreciate the thorough work of the audit team and welcome recommendations that will strengthen the Zoo’s operations and long-term sustainability. ” The need for cash from The City is immediate. The Zoological Society is projecting a two-year net operating-cash deficit of $11.89 million between January 2026 and December 2027, according to a city report. The loan plan The City is considering would provide money as terms are satisfied, with $6.5 million made available through the second quarter of 2027.
Another $2 million could be available if the zoo successfully renews its American Zoos and Aquariums certification in March and city officials find that it “has made sufficient progress towards financial stability and its long-term goals. ” Established in 1929, the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens is a 100-acre park with nearly 1,500 animals of more than 225 species, according to zoo data.
The zoo and the animals are owned by San Francisco, and it is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Recreation and Park Department. The City pays the Zoological Society an annual management fee of $4 million — about 17% of the zoo’s projected revenues in FY 2025-26. That amount that has not been increased since its lease was signed in 1993.
Melgar and Supervisor Connie Chan both pushed Wednesday for Recreation and Parks to take steps toward revisiting that 33-year-old agreement. The Zoological Society has about 180 employees and more than 30 members on its board of directors. Oversight is provided through the Joint Zoo Committee, which consists of three Zoological Society board members and three city park commissioners.
The City analyzed the cost and complexity of immediately terminating the Zoological Society’s lease and determined that caring for the zoo’s animals while finding them new homes would not be “feasible or financially prudent,” a proposed resolution supporting the loan plan said. The Budget and Legislative Analyst estimated that if The City assumed responsibility for the zoo’s animals and grounds, the three-year cost could be between $42 million and $65 million, with ongoing annual costs thereafter.
The audit found many problems with past zoo management relating to the zoo’s financial condition; its lack of strategic and capital planning; a lack of oversight by its board of directors; the condition of its facilities, contracting and procurement procedures; its worker-safety proceduresl and its workplace culture. It outlined recommendations for the zoo and city entities.
Issues the audit cited included that between FY 2019-20 and FY 2024-25, the Zoological Society spent at least $12 million on capital improvements to zoo premises without documented approval from the Recreation and Park Commission as required by its lease and management agreement. In addition, the audit highlighted some individual purchases by leadership, including: None of those expenses had supporting documentation showing which employees benefitted from or participated in the listed activities, it said.
The Zoological Society also made payments to relatives of organization employees without a record of a competitive procurement process, “which risks at least the appearance of favoritism in contracting,” the audit said. Costello testified Wednesday that competitive bidding for contracts is now the standard.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens San Francisco Zoological Society Myrna Melgar
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