New Orleans, LA, USA — Effective August 1, Audubon Nature Institute welcomes Frank Donze as the new Communications Director of the not-for-profit operator of ten parks and museums dedicated to celebrating the wonders of nature including Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Entergy IMAX® Theatre, and Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. Donze comes to Audubon as a veteran journalist, recently retired after a 35-year career as a staff writer for The Times-Picayune.
“I am delighted that Frank has joined Audubon Nature Institute as the Communications Director,” said Ron Forman, President/CEO. “Frank’s years of experience covering a broad array of issues make him uniquely positioned to join our marketing team. As Communications Director at Audubon, Frank will work with the Audubon team to share information about projects, programs, and animals with the public. He is a well respected journalist and will bring unique insight to telling the Audubon story. “
Since the mid-1980s, Donze has coordinated all aspects of City Hall coverage in New Orleans, reporting on the City Council and the administrations of the last five mayors. He also pioneered the popular political round-up column “City Hall Notes,” a mainstay of the Metro section for nearly three decades. His reporting experience has included in-depth coverage of municipal, judicial, legislative and Congressional races and the monitoring of agencies such as the Regional Transit Authority, the Sewerage & Water Board, the City Planning Commission, the Orleans Levee Board and Audubon Nature Institute.
In the early to mid-1990s, Donze led the newsroom team that documented the advent of the gambling industry in Louisiana. A member of the news team that received a 2006 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, he chronicled the post-storm recovery of City Park, the Saenger Theater and Lakefront Airport. His feature-writing experience includes profiling local political figures, athletes and musicians.
A former board member of the Press Club of New Orleans, he holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Louisiana State University and is a fellow of Loyola University’s Institute of Politics, where he has been a guest lecturer since 1990. Frank, a graduate of Holy Cross High School in New Orleans, lives with his wife Elizabeth in New Orleans. They are the parents of two daughters.
