It’s not a stretch to say that I grew up at the Houston Zoo and bring it with me every day of my life. I developed a love of animals and the natural world there that became infused with who I was and who I still am. I spent my childhood staring up at the giraffes, racing under the lion exhibit, and dragging my poor mother through the reptile house every single visit without fail. I spent my summers at Zoo camp, probably annoying my councilors with too many animal factoids. And I have spent my adult life employed at three other AZA institutions in the education field and generally working towards a better future for our planet.
Though I no longer live in Houston, it has been heartwarming and incredible to watch the Houston Zoo transform over the past 30 years from my childhood play space that exhibited animals to the world-class conservation institution it is today. Everything that the Houston Zoo does onsite and around the world simply blow me away. I cannot wait to bring my infant daughter there on my next trip home.