Pamela Reed Sanchez

Rochester Business Journal Staff//December 20, 2024//

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President and CEO

Seneca Park Zoo Society

Years in current role: 10.5

What personal or professional environmental effort are you most proud of?

As the largest conservation and environmental education organization in our region, the work we do onsite to connect people to wildlife and inspire them to change their behavior impacts hundreds of thousands of people annually. But the work we do off-site — including our urban ecologist workforce development program, our native pollinator habitat restoration, community cleanups, and plastic pollution prevention — is having meaningful and measurable impact on our region. While we do a great deal to support international conservation efforts, we are actively committed to improving the health of our own ecosystem here in Monroe County.

What are you most optimistic about regarding the Rochester region’s approach to environmental issues?

I think that both inequitable access to nature and environmental injustice are being addressed in meaningful ways through municipal efforts at the town, city, and county levels. There is recognition of the physical and mental health benefits of tree canopies in neighborhoods, and the investment in green spaces, a new High Falls state park, and our riverfront is heartening. Connecting ALL people to nature is an essential starting point to jointly solving the problems resulting from decades of environmental injustice.

What advice would you give someone who is looking to make a difference in addressing environmental issues?

Ask yourself first, what problem am I trying to solve? What skill sets do I have, or can I develop, to help solve that problem? You don’t have to be a scientist or a policymaker to address environmental issues — there are scores of organizations always looking for volunteers to assist with everything from communications strategy to hands-on community cleanups or pollinator garden planting.

What is your favorite outdoor activity in the Rochester area?

In warmer weather, kayaking in Braddock Bay and communing with heron, kingfisher, eagles, and terns. In the colder months, hiking on trails throughout the county, from Mt. Hope Cemetery to Oatka Creek.

This profile is part of our Power List for Environmental Leaders for 2024. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net.