Ralph Piland
President of the Board
The Dolphin Biology Research Institute is a Sarasota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established in 1982 to provide logistical support to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program with research vessels, towing vehicles, computers, cameras, field equipment, etc.
Ralph Piland has served as a member of the Dolphin Biology Research Institute board since 2017 and currently serves as board president.
Ralph has volunteered with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program since 1990, beginning shortly after the Chicago Zoological Society — now known as Brookfield Zoo Chicago — began its partnership with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program.
Ralph received a B.A. degree from Presbyterian College and an M.B.A from Loyola University (Chicago). He began his career at Riverbanks Zoological Park before relocating to Brookfield Zoo in 1977. At Brookfield Zoo Ralph held a variety of positions ending as Operations Director (1987-2000).
In 2000 Ralph accepted the position of Deputy Director at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona and in 2013 Ralph was named Director of the Salisbury Zoo in Maryland. While at the Salisbury Zoo Ralph helped establish a cooperative relationship with Ecuador’s Ministry of the Environment focused on the conservation of the Andean bear. In 2020 Ralph retired and relocated to Sarasota.
