Janelle Irwin Taylor
The Palm Beach Zoo raised $2.3 million to support its conservation efforts and animal care at a gala featuring more than 350 guests at the zoo.
The Palm Beach Zoo & Conservatory Society Tropical Safari gala, chaired by Amy Baier, wife of Fox News Host Bret Baier, Zoo Board of Directors Chair Michele Kessler and honorary chairs Deborah Dauman and Hilary Geary Ross provided safari adventure tours by zoologists, giving guests an opportunity to meet some of the zoo’s most prized inhabitants.
Notable attendees included actor Sylvester Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin; Interactive Brokers founder and Chairman Thomas Peterffy; former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and his wife, Hilary Ross; venture capitalist Howard Cox and his wife, Wendy Cox; Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman and his wife, Christine Schwarzman; real estate mogul Jeff Greene; President’s Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan and his wife, Amy Phelan; and Zoo Board of Directors member Carole Moran.
A live auction helped drive contributions to the zoo, including custom artwork donated by Findlay Galleries, Gustavo Novoa’s piece, Hard to Get; a rare vintage wine collection of six bottles of 1961 Château Haut-Brion; a dining experience with Bret Baier; insider access to experiences at the zoo; and more.
The zoo’s mission is to inspire individuals to support wildlife and the natural world. It also emphasizes “IDEA” — Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access — with the understanding that its mission requires support from people “across all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, mental/physical abilities, and sexual orientations,” according to the group’s website, which notes its appreciation for “the value of human diversity as being integral” in connecting with the communities it serves.
The zoo offers a number of guest experiences, including with bears, capybaras, a Giant Aldabra Tortoise, koalas, otters, panthers and tigers.
In addition to its zoo facilities, the group is active globally, including efforts to protect the Florida Panther and support for swallow-tailed kites, the snail kite, Florida flamingos, coral reefs, giraffes, tigers, the Everglades and various other wildlife saving actions.
