At the end of 2019, SDZG saw one of the biggest changes in its history: Douglas G. Myers, CEO/President, retired after 37 years dedicated to leading the organization.

In 1985, Doug took the reins of an organization on the verge of its most formidable and exciting transformations. For the next three decades, he guided it quietly and masterfully into an international conservation organization, a worldwide force in battling extinction and saving wildlife for animals and humans alike. Through his long tenure—the longest of all the SDZG directors and extending into the organization’s second century—Doug more than fulfilled the goal he set for himself, of making a difference in the lives of animals and the people who love them.