Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) Announces New Board Leadership

Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) announced that John Ring, a partner with the law firm Morgan Lewis, has been elected to serve as President of the FONZ Board of Directors. Ring has been an integral part of FONZ for more than seven years and succeeds Andrew Shore, who led the organization for the past three years.

John is just the kind of leader we need to help FONZ continue to fulfill its mission of supporting the National Zoo. His leadership will be critical in ensuring we continue to serve as a key partner to the Zoo and build on our support of wildlife programs, education, research and operations. FONZ has become so integral to the Zoo's operations and mission that there are few aspects of the Zoo's work that we don't support in some way. We are confident John will continue to grow this relationship," said Robert J. Lamb, Executive Director of FONZ.

FONZ has been instrumental in creating and hosting public and member events that draw crowds to the Zoo year round, including the "ZooFari" spring celebration of Washington's best cuisine, the family friendly Halloween "Boo at the Zoo," the free "ZooLights" winter lights festival, and multiple events celebrating the diversity of cultures and Washington traditions. FONZ builds a strong connection between the Zoo's mission and the residents and visitors to the nation's capital.

"I'm honored to serve as President of the Board for FONZ," said Ring. "FONZ has a rich history in the Washington community. I look forward to ensuring that FONZ continues in this role for many years to come."

John F. Ring Biography

John Ring is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice of Morgan Lewis, where he serves as the office practice group leader for the Labor and Employment Practice and the hiring partner for the Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Ring's practice focuses on advising clients in connection with strategic business planning with a particular emphasis on the negotiation and administration of labor contracts, multi-employer benefit funds, and corporate restructurings. He represents management interests in collective bargaining, employee benefits, litigation, counseling, and litigation avoidance strategies.

Mr. Ring has extensive experience in the negotiation and administration of numerous collective bargaining agreements, most notably the multi-employer agreement in the trucking industry. He has been involved in a number of other negotiations in a variety of industries, including airfreight, utilities, maritime, health care, manufacturing, the defense industry, and professional sports. He has represented clients in numerous proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, both in union representation and unfair labor practice cases.

Mr. Ring serves as counsel to a number of multi-employer benefit funds and has handled matters in pension and health & welfare fund administration. He advises multi-employer funds on all aspects of ERISA, including fiduciary issues, withdrawal liability, and benefits eligibility. Mr. Ring's background also extends to labor and employment litigation, in both federal state courts and in arbitrations under collective bargaining agreements and private ADR. Mr. Ring also has advised a number of clients on large-scale workforce restructuring and consolidations and has had extensive dealings with reduction-in-force issues.

Mr. Ring earned his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the Catholic University of America.