Ron Magill

Ron Magill, communications director and goodwill ambassador for Zoo Miami, has been working in wildlife for more than four decades. He joined Crandon Park Zoo, the precursor to Zoo Miami, in 1980 and has served in a range of zookeeper and curatorial roles before being appointed as communications director.

In this role, Magill has successfully leveraged media platforms to drive real-world conservation impact, has won five Emmy Awards for his work on nature documentaries such as The Amazon & Beyond and Dreams of the Rain Forest.

Magill is an award-winning photographer, documentary producer, and Nikon Ambassador, and his images have appeared in publications and galleries around the world, including the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

He has frequently appeared on shows such as the Today Show and Good Morning America, and documentaries for the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. Internationally, he hosted the national Spanish-language wildlife program Mundo Salvaje con Ron Magill and appeared regularly on the variety show Sábado Gigante for over 25 years.

Notably, in 2015, he established the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment at the Zoo Miami Foundation, providing scholarships and funding for field conservation projects worldwide.

“While Ron initially set out hoping to have a fund that could one day have a meaningful impact, his energy and passion has led to support for the fund coming in from across the world,” says one person who nominated Magill.

“Now, 10 years later, the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment is valued at more than $3 million and provides tens of thousands of dollars annually to important conservation projects, locally and globally.”

Another notable accomplishment is Magill’s work to raise awareness and funding for the Harpy Eagle, which resulted in the bird being designated the national bird of Panama in 2002. This effort also led to the establishment of the largest Harpy Eagle centre in the world.