Monterey Bay Aquarium’s founding director of more than 40 years is stepping away from the position and will join its board of trustees.
Julie Packard has been the aquarium’s sole director since it opened in 1984 and helped develop several groundbreaking initiatives and exhibits, including the aquarium’s open sea exhibit, its otter rehabilitation program, and the establishment of marine protected zones off the California coast, among other efforts.
A search for a new director will be conducted by an outside firm, according to a news release from the aquarium.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to lead the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the past 40 years,” Packard said in a statement. “When our founders first envisioned an aquarium focused on the marine life of Monterey Bay, we had high expectations. What we’ve achieved is so much more than anything we could have imagined.”
Julie Packard is the daughter of Lucille and David Packard, the latter of whom was a founding partner of the computer company Hewlett-Packard. The couple provided a $55 million donation to begin construction on the aquarium in 1978.
“I’m deeply grateful for the amazing generosity of our members and donors who have enabled us to achieve the Packard family’s original intent: that the Aquarium endure far into the future.”
Julie Packard, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s founding director
Julie Packard, who has a master’s degree in algal ecology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, helped build the aquarium into a world-famous destination on the Central Coast and helped launch innovations such as its 28-foot-tall kelp forest exhibit that utilizes water pumped directly from the Monterey Bay.
Under her leadership, the aquarium developed a 1.2-million-gallon open ocean exhibit in 1996 that includes sharks, tuna, sea turtles and other open ocean creatures.
In 2001, the aquarium expanded its otter rehabilitation program to pair surrogate mothers with rescued otter pups that can be rehabilitated and released back into the wild.
Aquarium board chair Tegan Acton called Packard a “visionary leader.” “I and my colleagues on the Board of Trustees are so grateful for everything she’s done,” Acton said. “I look forward to working with Julie as we search for her successor, and in her future leadership role on the aquarium board.” Packard said she felt the aquarium’s future was “brighter than ever” and said she was looking forward to seeing its next developments.
“I’m deeply grateful for the amazing generosity of our members and donors who have enabled us to achieve the Packard family’s original intent: that the Aquarium endure far into the future,” Packard said. “I’m excited to continue to build on this success, for the benefit of the ocean and future generations.”
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