Monterey Bay Aquarium hires Sandy Trautwein as Vice President of Animal Care

Monterey Bay Aquarium is pleased to announce Sandy Trautwein as its new vice president of Animal Care, beginning September 21, 2026. Trautwein joins the team following a comprehensive national search that attracted a highly competitive pool of candidates.  She will report to the Chief Aquarium Operations Officer, Brad Rutherford.

“Monterey Bay Aquarium sets the standard for how animal care, science, and conservation can work in concert to inspire public trust and advance ocean stewardship. I welcome the opportunity to partner with your leadership team to further strengthen and elevate the Animal Care Division in support of that mission,” said Trautwein.

“We’re delighted to welcome Sandy to the Monterey Bay Aquarium team. She's an experienced aquarium leader who has dedicated her career to conservation and protecting species,” said Rutherford.

Trautwein comes to the Aquarium from Species360, where she served as Director of Conservation and Science leading global conservation strategy and partnering with regional and international zoological associations to reinforce the role of zoos and aquariums as credible conservation leaders. Before that Trautwein spent over two decades at the Aquarium of the Pacific, where she was part of the team that prepared the Aquarium’s exhibits for its grand opening. In her most recent role there as Vice President of Husbandry, she provided executive oversight for animal care operations supporting more than 700 species and led multidisciplinary teams across husbandry, veterinary services, dive operations, and water quality, ensuring alignment between animal welfare excellence, accreditation standards, guest engagement, and institutional strategy. A significant milestone during her tenure was helping initiate the expansion of the sea otter surrogacy program in direct partnership with Monterey Bay Aquarium.

She holds a master’s of science degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina with an emphasis in coral and earned a Ph.D. in biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2013.

About Monterey Bay Aquarium

With a mission to inspire conservation of the ocean, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the most admired aquarium in the United States, a leader in science education, and a voice for ocean conservation through comprehensive programs in marine science and public policy. Everything we do works in concert to protect the future of our blue planet. More information at MontereyBayAquarium.org.