Celebrating Administrative Professionals’ Day
Happy Administrative Professionals’ Day! We’re spotlighting a few of the administrative assistants who support the Houston Zoo. Get to know a little more about them below!
Veterinary Clinic
Our onsite veterinary clinic wouldn’t be what it is without the support of our administrative assistants. Ruth has been with the Zoo for a little over two years and works as an assistant in veterinary records. She appreciates that the Zoo gives her the ability to work in a field that combines her two passions: animal health and conservation. Ruth shares, “It’s so fulfilling to know that the projects I assist on promote the health and well-being of animals at our Zoo and out in the wild.”
Kathryn has worked at the Zoo for 17 years, helping with the day-to-day administrative duties for the veterinary clinic. She shares, “Working at the Zoo is an amazing experience because I get to be a part of the daily care and protection of a variety of species that I would not normally get to be a part of.”
Executive Staff
Amy has been with the Zoo for 15 years and has worked in a variety of roles, including as a ranger, then ranger supervisor, executive assistant, HR administrator, and now executive administrative assistant to our president and CEO. Amy has had a connection to the Zoo since she was a child and loves coming to a place where she feels so strongly connected to the mission. She shares, “It means a lot to me to be able to share that conservation connection with my own children and to support our staff in this important effort.”
Ellen moved to Houston over 20 years ago and said it has always been a dream of hers to work at the Houston Zoo. She’s worked at the Zoo for over three years, supporting our chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Ellen shares, “I continue to remain overjoyed to be here and consider myself fortunate to work as an integral part of the Zoo. My job combines all my passions: animals, supporting staff and conservation. When you love what you do, and work with other staff equally passionate, every day is pure bliss!”
Exhibit Design
Meet Alma! She’s worked as an administrative assistant for our Exhibit Design department for almost 2.5 years. She previously spent 12 years with our SSA Group. No day is the same for Alma and some of her day-to-day responsibilities include administrative support, maintaining exhibits, building and creating trees and rock formations, ensuring equipment is working correctly, and more. Alma has been a part of many projects at the Zoo such as Texas Wetlands, South America’s Pantanal, renovated orangutan exhibit, and most recently the Galapagos Islands. She shares, “I’ve been coming to the Zoo since I was ten years old and it means a lot for me to be a part of the Zoo team. It’s amazing to see all of the continued change and I am very attached to all of the animals here at the Zoo.”
Conservation Education
Meet Kelly! She is an administrative coordinator in our Conservation Education department. Kelly has worked at the Zoo for ten years but her connection to the Zoo goes beyond that, back to 2003 when she was part of our teen Zoo Crew program. She shares, “My job is never the same two days in a row, and I love the variety and all of the different people that I get to work with. I am passionate about connecting people with our animals and education programs, and inspiring guests to help save animals in the wild.”
Note: Non-masked photos were taken pre-COVID or while safely social distancing from others.
