Skip to Content
  • Browse
  • Past Issues
  • Search

Arts and Letters

Wagner History

Wagner News

Inside Sports

Alumni Stories

Obituaries

Alumni Events

From the President

Feature Stories
Winter 2022
Winter 2021
Fall 2021
Summer 2019
Winter 2018–19
Summer 2018
Fall 2017
Summer 2017
Fall 2016
Winter 2015-16
Summer 2015
Fall 2014
Winter 2013-14
Summer 2013
Fall 2012
Summer 2012
Fall 2011
Summer 2011
Fall 2010
Summer 2010
Fall 2009
Summer 2009
Fall 2008
Summer 2008

Ken Mitchell ’87: A Zoo-tiful Day in the Neighborhood

SHARE
PRINT
BACK TO TOP
Ken Mitchell ’87: A Zoo-tiful Day in the Neighborhood
A New Facet of ‘Beautiful’
A photo of the front cover of the album, "Introducing the Grymes Hill Singers"
Remembering the Grymes Hill Singers
Ken Mitchell poses outdoors next to a sloth mother and baby hanging from a wooden frame.
Cece the two-toed sloth takes her turn greeting zoo visitors. Her baby, Waffles (see its head on Cece’s chest?), was born on April 9. Fun fact: The Staten Island Zoo is the only NYC zoo not run by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

CLAIM TO FAME: Ken Mitchell ’87 is the executive director of the Staten Island Zoo, a small but vital institution of education and conservation. Annually, close to 200,000 people visit its 350 animal species, including 69 that are endangered or even extinct in the wild.

SPECIES SURVIVAL: The zoo recently became home to the world’s rarest cat, the amur leopard. Only 50 survive in the wild, and the hope is that the zoo’s pair will breed. Last year, the zoo’s scimitar-horned oryx, a Saharan antelope extinct in the wild, bore its first calf. The zoo specializes in reptiles, including such threatened species as the Aruba Island rattlesnake. “We are not just exhibiting animals, but making sure they continue to thrive and flourish for generations to come,” Mitchell says.

LEGAL EAGLE: Mitchell grew up near the zoo, riding his bike through the leafy eight-acre property. But he had no boyhood dreams of becoming a zookeeper. “I always had an interest in politics, civics, and law,” he says.

SEAHAWK FAMILY: Mitchell names his uncle, Alex Mitchell ’57, an American Airlines executive who oversaw the company’s financial regulatory analysis, as an early influence. He followed his uncle’s footsteps to Wagner College to become an economics and business administration major. Two sisters, Elizabeth Mitchell Diaz ’92 and Ann Mitchell ’04 M’08, also are alumni, as is his wife, Jacquelyn Mahoney M’00. He hopes his 6-year-old son, Charlie, will be part of the class of 2032 or so.

WIN SOME … After Wagner, Mitchell earned a JD from New York Law School. For seven years, he was chief of staff and general counsel for the Democratic city councilman representing northern Staten Island. When his boss was elected to Congress, Mitchell won the council seat in a February 2009 special election. In the next general election, however, Mitchell lost to a Democratic challenger.

HOMECOMING: In early 2010, the zoo’s former executive director stepped down. Mitchell agreed to serve as executive director on an interim basis, and it turned out to be a good fit. His knowledge of city government and local organizations is extremely useful in advocating for zoo support and funding.

LESS IS MORE: What makes the zoo most special to Mitchell? Its intimacy. “You come here, and it’s small enough that you can do it in a day, and you can get close to the animals. Our docent program allows people to touch the animals. At a lot of other zoos, you don’t have that personal touch.”

STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES: Over the past several years, all of Wagner’s pre-veterinary students have interned at the Staten Island Zoo, says Chris Corbo, assistant professor of biology. This valuable hands-on experience has given them a leg up in the highly competitive admissions process to the veterinary schools at Cornell, Tufts, and Ohio State.

A NEW LOVE: Admitting that he prefers the leopards to the rattlesnakes, Mitchell says, “I had no idea how involved the work of a zoo was. I’ve grown to love it and appreciate the work of our professionals.”

Summer 2017

  • Alumni Stories
  • government
SHARE
PRINT

Related Stories

image description

History Makers: Guy V. Molinari ’49 H’90

Aug 06, 2019 He represented Staten Island through thick and thin.
image description

A Community-Based Researcher with Eclectic Taste

Mar 13, 2019 Wagner helps you "create your own story," says Quincy Rasin '18.
image description

An Urban Physician Devoted to Diversity

Mar 13, 2019 “In the Learning Communities, you learn to branch out, whether you’re comfortable with it or not,” says Dr. Violeta Capric ’12.
CLASS NOTES
OBITUARIES
CONTACT US

LATEST NEWS

image description

Pride Collection comes to Horrmann Library

The Horrmann Library is the home of a unique collection of over 2,000 titles on …

image description

Yuliya Johnson: Global Health Guardian

Alumna Yuliya Johnson helps keep her adopted country safe from pandemics, bioterrorism.
by Tim O’Bryhim

image description

Chris Cappelli: Global Health Guardian

If nothing happens, it means alumnus Chris Cappelli has done his job right.
by Tim O’Bryhim

image description

President Araimo makes Staten Island Power 100

City & State N.Y., a magazine dedicated to New York’s local and state politics and …

  • About the Magazine
  • Give to Wagner
  • Wagner Newsroom
  • Wagner Home
FOLLOW US

© 2025 All Rights Reserved