A second finalist for the Little Rock Zoo director position has withdrawn his candidacy, leaving three people in the running.
The zoo's board of governors originally selected five finalists to interview for the position. The board was to interview each of them and narrow the pool to three candidates to recommend to City Manager Bruce Moore, who will make the final selection.
Baird Fleming, current director of the Honolulu Zoo, withdrew his name from consideration upon being notified of his selection because he didn't want his name to appear in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, he said.
David Zetlaff, who is currently unemployed but has 35 years of zoo experience, spoke with the newspaper earlier this month and explained why he wanted the job, but sometime afterward he notified the city that he was no longer interested in the position. He didn't give a reason for his withdrawal, city spokesman Jennifer Godwin said.
Zetlaff gave a statement to the Democrat-Gazette later Tuesday, saying: "Although I appreciate being chosen as a finalist for the director position I've opted to pursue another opportunity. I wish much success for the zoo and its new director."
The remaining finalists are Susan Altrui, the assistant director of the Little Rock Zoo, who is serving as its acting director; Norah Fletchall, chief operating officer and senior vice president of the Indianapolis Zoological Society; and Roger Sweeney, assistant director of the Virginia Zoo.
The zoo board has interviews scheduled with the candidates this week and next week.
Sweeney, who has 30 years of experience working as a consultant or keeper at various wildlife preservation programs around the world, will be in Little Rock today for his interview and meetings. He will start the day with breakfast with the city's human resources director, then get a tour of the zoo and meet with zoo staff members.
The zoo's board of governors will interview him in closed executive session from 4-6 p.m., and then he will have dinner with Moore.
Fletchall, who moved to the Indianapolis Zoo after working as the assistant director at the John Ball Zoological Garden in Michigan from 1987 to 2009, will follow the same schedule on her interview date, Dec. 7.
Altrui, who was promoted last year to assistant zoo director after being the Little Rock Zoo's director of marketing and development since 2005, will interview Dec. 8 from 4-6 p.m., followed by dinner with Moore.
Moore said Tuesday that he will select the new director by the end of the year.
Whoever is chosen will succeed Michael Blakely, who retired in October after 17 years on the job. Blakely wrote a letter recommending Altrui for the job.
The salary range for the position is listed as between $87,350 and $134,500. Blakely was making $115,000 when he retired.
Metro on 11/30/2016