From volunteer to CEO: Aquarium leader reflects on 20-year career
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — Wednesday is the last day on the job for Gary Siddall, the president and CEO of the Aquarium of Niagara. Starting next week, he will take over as president and CEO of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, which is responsible for the Buffalo Museum of Science and the Tifft Nature Preserve.
Siddall will leave behind quite a legacy at the aquarium, where he knows just about every nook and cranny.
“I started at the aquarium as a volunteer 20 years ago,” he said.
Things looked a lot different for the attraction back then. Siddall’s career grew along with the aquarium.
“The aquarium is relevant, it has its place on the stage now,” he said.
When Siddall was named CEO in 2018, his first order was to find more than $1 million in funding to finish the long-awaited Penguin Encounter.
“It was really our move at showing the community we can do it” he said. “We can define a vision, we can say we’re going to do something and get it done.”
With the Great Lakes 360 expansion opening in a whole new building this year, why leave now? Siddall says sometimes you just need to stir things up.
“I promise none of the animals, the staff or the board have made this decision easy,” he said. “But when you look at an entire career’s worth of time, 20 years is a long period of time to spend in one organization.”
Siddall will be walking into a new role that has some similarities to the aquarium, but also some big differences.
“The animals at the science museum certainly move around a lot less than they do here at the aquarium,” he joked.
But there is still a lot of science, and how to help the public interpret it. Running the Tifft Nature Preserve will be different, yet the mission is still similar.
“It’s all about environmental conservation and responsible stewardship of our watershed,” said Siddall.
It’s not like he is moving far. He’s told the aquarium staff he will only be a phone call away.
“You don’t leave a legacy of 20 years with relationships with people and animals easily,” said Siddall. “So I imagine that it will be a very tough day leading into that transition.”
Siddall begins his new position on Monday.
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