March 11, 2025

Seattle Aquarium

Sloan

The Seattle Aquarium named Peggy Sloan as its new president and chief executive officer. Sloan brings decades of experience in aquarium leadership, strategic planning, and community impact. Sloan begins her new role at the Seattle Aquarium in May. She joins the aquarium at a historic moment, following the opening of the Ocean Pavilion and its public rooftop, and ahead of the aquarium's 50th anniversary in 2027. Most recently, Sloan was at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where she served as chief animal conservation officer since 2018. As chief of the animal care and science division, she played a key role in executing a $500 million strategic plan, contributing across all areas of operations as part of the executive team, and leading animal care and conservation science. Prior to Shedd, Sloan served as director of the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Sloan's leadership and conservation background includes roles in the global effort to restore critically endangered species, serving as board chair for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and chair of the Aquariums Committee of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Sloan first came to Seattle in 1991 early in her marine science and conservation education career to work as a NOAA fisheries observer. She was deployed in the field on catchers and trawlers in the Bering Sea while maintaining a base in Seattle. The CEO search was an extensive, national effort that began in 2023. It was led by a select committee of the board of directors and community members, chaired by incoming board chair Charles Wright. The Seattle Aquarium was founded in 1977.