Submitted by Samil Baker, Birmingham Zoo
Lori Perkins.
The Birmingham Zoo and its Board of Directors is proud to announce Lori Perkins as the new deputy director of the Birmingham Zoo. Perkins will be responsible for the oversight of zoo operations, animal health, animal care and the education department. In addition, she will help steer the zoo's strategic planning with key long-term goals, budget formulation and organizational management.
Perkins comes to the zoo with over 30 years of zoological experience working intensely in wildlife conservation and management through the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), Zoo Atlanta and recently Walt Disney Parks & Resorts - Animal Kingdom as the Education & Science Director. She has served as chair of AZA’s Animal Welfare Committee and its Wildlife Conservation and Management Committee, and as a nationally-elected member of the AZA’s Board of Professional Ethics. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Perkins earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology at the Georgia Institute of Technology as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow.
The conservation and management of apes has always been Perkins’ primary focus, with a particular expertise in orangutans. She has chaired the national Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP) since 1991, and is an advisor to the Ape Taxon Advisory Group, as well as to the Chimpanzee and Gorilla SSP. Perkins also serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, FL, which is renowned for being the only sanctuary in the western hemisphere that cares for orangutans.
Perkins’ career has reflected ever-increasing and broadening institutional responsibility, where she has directed global animal related science and education strategies for zoos, organizations, corporations, and film and television productions.
President & CEO of the Birmingham Zoo Chris Pfefferkorn is thrilled about Perkins’ joining the Zoo and serving on the senior staff. “Lori will be instrumental to the Birmingham Zoo and play an important part in helping to achieve our goals, improving support and cultivating the types of relationships that are crucial to our success. We are excited for her to join the Birmingham Zoo family,” he said.
Submitted by Samil Baker, Birmingham Zoo
