Chad Truxall is the Executive Director of the Marine Discovery Center (MDC) with responsibility for implementing the organization’s mission to protect and restore Florida’s coastal ecosystems.
Prior to his role as Executive Director, Truxall served as the Director of Programs for MDC and was responsible for developing and implementing hands-on, feet-wet education and conservation programs including the very successful Florida Master Naturalist Program.
In 2018, he was awarded the Outstanding New Leader Award from the Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA), an international network of nature and environmental learning centers. Truxall strongly believes that as humans become more disconnected from the natural world, nature and environmental learning centers will play a critical role in connecting people back to nature and also with each other.
He is a Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) lead instructor and serves on several boards including the FMNP Advisory board, New Smyrna Beach Areas Visitors Bureau, Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce, and the Association of Nature Center Administrators.
Truxall holds a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation with a specialization in Aquatic Sciences from the University of Florida and has more than 20 years of experience as a biologist, educator and non-profit manager. Truxall is a Florida native and resides in Port Orange, FL with his wife, daughter, 3 cats, and 2 Labrador Retrievers.
