Save Our Seabirds begins search for new CEO

The search has begun to replace Save Our Seabirds CEO David Pilston, who plans to retire and leave the position at the end of August. Pilston has been the CEO since 2012. 

Pilston took over a struggling organization with deteriorating facilities. He has helped make the center at 1708 Ken Thompson Parkway a high-functioning seabird rehabilitation and release station that rescues about 5,000 birds a year. During his tenure, revenues have tripled, board chair Jim Curtis said in a press release. 

Also read: SOS contributor Miri Hardy's Bird of the week for May 13

"We've got a good team in place and we've come a long way in nine years," Pilston said. "We're financially stable now, the facilities are dramatically improved and we have the capital campaign in place. When I joined in 2012, the treasurer of the board told me she thought the place had five months to live. We've been in the black every year since then."

Pilston spearheaded the organization's capital campaign, "Come Fly With Us," that launched in 2019. The goal is to raise money for a renovated entry building, education center and rehabilitation facilities. Though it has been put on pause because of the pandemic, it will be relaunched in the fall, Pilston said. 

"Most of our supporters are up north now, so we’ll wait until everybody is back in town, but I’ll still be in touch," Pilston said. 

In late 2020, the organization hired its first-ever full-time veterinarian, Maria Passarelli, which has allowed Save Our Seabirds to become a fully functioning avian hospital. In the past, birds with more serious ailments would have had to be transferred to another facility.

"We are now considered by FWC to be the model facility of our kind in the state of Florida," Pilston said. "I'm really proud of our team. We have a great group of people that are really smart and engaged and committed."

Pilston will retire and move to Europe with his wife, according to a press release. He had been thinking of retiring in the next couple years, but saw the pandemic as a good inflection point to make the move. 

"I think it’s a really good time as we reopen and relaunch," Pilston said. "I think it’s a good time to pass the baton."

Save Our Seabirds is looking for a replacement with five years of nonprofit management experience, as well as five years of fundraising and marketing experience, according to the job posting on mbjgroup.com.