[6] John M. Cochran, founding president of the Erie Zoological Society (1962), was active in expanding and renovating the zoo.

A forty-year $1.08 million bond issue, resulting in the construction of the ice arena and the Pixieland children's zoo, among other things, are in large part the work of Cochran.

In order to float the 1964 bond issue for improvements at the zoo, the city was required to create a financing authority to hold the property title.

A five-member board of directors is chosen by the Erie City Council to run the authority.

As of 2007[update], roughly ten percent of the society's annual budget is funded by municipalities, with the balance received through philanthropy.

The zoo is operated through a board of directors headed by a president and chief executive officer.