About Us

The California Academy of Sciences is a world-class scientific and cultural institution based in San Francisco. The Academy recently opened a new facility in Golden Gate Park, a 400,000 square foot structure that houses an aquarium, a planetarium a natural history museum and a 4-story rainforest all under one roof.

The new facility is also home to the Academy's staff of world-class scientists, an education department that provides a wide range of student and teacher services, and an extensive science library with over 20 million specimens and artifacts.

Our Mission

The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to explore, explain and protect the natural world.

Our Values and Ethics

All those involved with the Academy share a commitment to high standards both within the organization and in dealing with others.

Learn more »

Education and Research

The Academy is an international center for scientific education and research and is at the forefront of efforts to understand and protect the diversity of Earth’s living things. The Academy has a staff of over 50 professional educators and Ph.D.-level scientists, supported by more than 100 Research and Field Associates and over 300 Fellows. It hosts 11 fields of research, including anthropology, aquatic biology, botany, comparative genomics, entomology, geology, herpetology, ichthyology, invertebrate zoology,mammalogy and ornithology. The Academy’s research collections, which are among the world’s largest, include more than 20 million specimens—essential tools for comparative studies on the history and future of the natural world.

Management Team

Gregory C. Farrington, Ph.D., Executive Director
Christopher R. Andrews, Ph.D., Chief of Public Programs and Director of Steinhart Aquarium
Alison Brown, Chief Finance and Operations Officer
Michelle McClellan, Chief Development Officer
Blair Shane, Chief Marketing Officer
Don Skeoch, Chief Revenue Officer

Board of Trustees

James N. Alexander
John C. Atwater
Laurence M. Baer
W. Richard Bingham
Richard C. Blum
Shawn Byers
Peter Y. Chung
Richard P. Emerson
John H.N. Fisher
Randi Fisher
Peter M. Folger
Mark Gaumond
Edward A. Gilhuly
Rosemary Gillespie, Ph.D.
John Hafernik, Ph.D.
Harry Hagey
William R. Hearst III
Susan Desmond-Hellmann, M.D.
Glenn W. Holsclaw
David A. Hoyt
Nelson Ishiyama
Ann L. Johnson, M.D.
Thomas B. Klein
Martha Kropf
John W. Larson
Laura Lazarus
Sharon Long, Ph.D.
Janet McKinley

Hamid R. Moghadam
George G. Montgomery, Jr.
Craig C. Moritz, Ph.D.
David Morrison, Ph.D.
William T. Morrow
Michael J. Murray
Susan Oberndorf
Arthur Patterson
William J. Patterson, Chair
Carrie W. Penner
Carmen A. Policy
William S. Price, III
Fidela Z. Schneider
Judy Siebel
Jill C. Tarter, Ph.D.
Thomas W. Tusher
Robert D. Valdez
Geerat J. Vermeij, Ph.D.
Ward B. Watt, Ph.D., President
William Wilson III
Adrienne L. Zihlman, Ph.D.
Mary Zlot