Biography: Tony Zodrow, Executive Director
For over 25 years, Tony Zodrow has served as an administrator for educational non-profits including a private university, two large museums and, for the past 10 years, as the founding Executive Director of GulfQuest, also known as the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico.
Since 2005, Zodrow has worked with the GulfQuest Board of Trustees and the City of Mobile to fund and establish the new interactive maritime museum’s exhibits and facilities. Featuring 90 interactive exhibits, simulators, displays and theaters, GulfQuest will be the first maritime museum dedicated to the Gulf of Mexico’s rich maritime heritage and culture. GulfQuest will open to the public on Saturday, September 26.
Prior to GulfQuest, Zodrow served as CEO of McWane Science Center, a $43 million interactive museum in downtown Birmingham, where he spearheaded an expansion that enabled the museum to host blockbuster exhibitions such as Titanic, Tutankhamun, and Einstein. During his tenure, Zodrow increased museum attendance and revenue through innovative programming and marketing strategies.
Before McWane Science Center, Zodrow served as Deputy Director of Omniplex, Oklahoma’s premier science center, in Oklahoma City. Zodrow managed fundraising, marketing and public relations and, in 2000, oversaw the marketing launch of the OmniDome Theater, Oklahoma’s first large-format theater ̶ an effort for which Omniplex received the IMAX industry’s top marketing award for the most successful launch of a new theater.
Prior to Omniplex, Zodrow served as Associate Vice President for fundraising, marketing and public relations for Phillips University, a liberal arts university in Enid, OK.
Tony and his wife, Shawna, a third-grade teacher in the Mobile County Public Schools, live in Mobile and have two children, Jackson and Rachel.