After he stepped down from the position of Philadelphia Zoo CEO, Vik Dewan has set his sights on obscure funds in an attempt to increase charitable giving, writes Kristen Mosbrucker-Garza for WHYY.
When he was tapped to be the zoo’s CEO in 2006, Dewan had no educational or professional background in wildlife preservation or animal studies. He was a banker who served as president for Wells Fargo’s — then Wachovia — Philadelphia and Delaware region.
He made many positive contributions during his long tenure at the zoo, including overseeing a zookeeper diversity talent pipeline program that secured paid internships for high school and college students from the neighborhoods surrounding the West Philly zoo.
He also helped reimagine how visitors experience the zoo.
“We started to think about [the zoo] in three dimensions and we built these overhead trails that connected the animal habitat area, giving animals the ability to roam between exhibit areas,” he said.
In his next adventure, Dewan is now turning his gaze onto nonprofits. He has noticed that the pool of money to promote social good is reducing instead of increasing, so he hopes to help change that by meeting with donors and offering insight into what could actually be achieved.
Read more about Vik Dewan’s new career endeavor helping nonprofits in WHYY.
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