A little more than a year ago, Ross Mitchell stepped down from his position as executive director of Laurel Hill Cemetery in East Falls to take a job with a nonprofit organization.

During his tenure, Mitchell was lauded for his unconventional efforts aimed at breathing new life into this famed resting place for Philadelphia's dead.

Now, a seasoned leader is preparing to take the helm at the 74-acre, 173-year-old cemetery overlooking the Schuylkill River and Kelly Drive, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998.

Stepping in to take on additional responsibility is Alexander "Pete" Hoskins, who brings impressive credentials to the role. In the past, he has held leadership positions at the Philadelphia Zoo, the Fairmount Park system and the Philadelphia Area YMCA.

Unlike Mitchell, however, whose position of executive director was created specifically for him, Hoskins will actually have a larger role, serving as president and chief executive officer of West Laurel Hill Cemetery Co., which is the parent company of Laurel Hill and West Laurel Hill Cemeteries, as well as Bringhurst/Turner Funeral Homes.

Hoskins technically takes over for Nevin Mann, who was president of the cemetery company from April 2001 to Feb. 2009.

Hoskins, 62, is a California native who worked for the City of Philadelphia in various capacities throughout the past two decades.

He started in the managing director's office in 1972, fresh out of grad school at the University of Minnesota, a position he stayed in for eight years.

He eventually filled other administrative roles, including serving as the executive director of Fairmount Park for most of the 1980s, and as Streets Commissioner from 1988 to 1993.

"For the first several years . . . I still had my eye on working in a managing director's office in California, (but) as time went on, I fell in love with Philadelphia," Hoskins said last week.

From 1993 to 2006, Hoskins served as president of the Philadelphia Zoo, taking over for its late CEO who passed away in 1991.

Since he left the zoo, Hoskins has done fundraising work for the Philadelphia YMCA.

Now, he will have the unique responsibility of being in charge of an entity that is both a business and a nonprofit organization.

Hoskins was familiar with the cemeteries due to his work with the park system, but actually running the company that oversees the burial grounds, which sit in East Falls and Bala Cynwd, respectively, will be a challenge, he said.

"I didn't know about the business, but I knew about Laurel Hill," he said.

Recognizing his involvement with arts and culture in Philadelphia, a cemetery board member approached Hoskins about applying for the CEO position.

"Initially, I really wasn't that interested, because I was enjoying my work at the 'Y'," he said.

But soon, his interest was sparked and Hoskins opted to try his hand at something new and different.

"As I was encouraged to pursue the process, I became much more interested in what the cemeteries do," Hoskins said. "It seems like a very good return for me to get back into running an organization."