Fota Wildlife Park announces Aileen Tennant as its new Director

Fota Wildlife Park has announced the appointment of Aileen Tennant as its new Director. She will assume her role on 1 July, spearheading the operations of the Cork wildlife park, which welcomes circa 450,000 visitors annually. 

A Carlow native and DCU Science Education graduate, Aileen ran the Discovery & Learning Department at Dublin Zoo for nine years. She will now lead the senior management team at Fota Wildlife Park, driving the implementation of the organisation's strategic goals. Entrusted with the leadership, growth, and strategic development of Fota Wildlife Park, Aileen will oversee all aspects of park management while upholding its core values of conservation, education, research, animal welfare and visitor experience. Her appointment comes at an exciting time of growth for Fota Wildlife Park, which is currently commissioning a state-of-the-art Education, Conservation and Research Conference Centre.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Jim Woulfe, Chair of Fota Wildlife Park, said: "We are delighted to welcome Aileen as our new Park Director. Her extensive experience and dedication to conservation and education make her the perfect fit to lead Fota Wildlife Park into its next chapter of innovation, growth, and development. 

“I'd also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our outgoing Director, Sean McKeown, for his steadfast leadership in the development of the Wildlife Park and his commitment to conservation over the past 40 years. We wish him the very best on his retirement." 

Speaking on her new role, Aileen added: "I am incredibly honoured to join Fota Wildlife Park and contribute to its mission to enable a more sustainable and biodiverse future, which will be driven forward by activity in the new education complex. I look forward to working with the team to deliver positive change in the conservation of wildlife and to inspire visitors to join us in this mission at Fota Wildlife Park."

Aileen's tenure at Dublin Zoo was marked by notable achievements, including the expansion of the Discovery & Learning department which delivers award-winning learning programmes and the implementation of innovative visitor experiences such as Zoorassic World, Himalayan Hills and the Discovery & Learning Centre. Aileen was a key player in the strategic development of Dublin Zoo in recent years and delivered the zoo’s first-ever Conservation Education Master Plan.