Zoo’s Schwartz emerges as major industry player

Prior to moving here in the early 1990s, Rick Schwartz operated four businesses in North Carolina, including endangered exotic animal species breeding facility.

Since then, the unassuming Nashville Zoo executive director has established himself as a major player within the nation's zoo and aquarium industry. For example, Schwartz's efforts overseeing his team's breeding of clouded leopards and giant anteaters have garnered significant attention.