Oakland Zoo was established in 1922 and is managed by the Conservation Society of California, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife both locally and globally. The Zoo is home to over 700 native and exotic animals. We're recognized for our outstanding animal care, particularly our elephant care program, and for our Leed-certified, 17,000 square foot, state-of-the-art veterinary hospital—the largest wild animal veterinary facility in Northern California.

Museums

Oakland Zoo

Amy Tharpe Peterson

Adam Miller comes to the Oakland Zoo with over 20 years of finance and operations leadership experience in the education sector, where he worked for mission-driven organizations supporting the growth of high-quality opportunities for all students from kindergarten through college. He has presented on finance, strategic planning, and operations at conferences across the country and has served on multiple non-profit boards including Learn Fresh and Stanford Associates Board of Governors. At Oakland Zoo, Adam oversees all aspects of finance, operations, and park service functions.

Adam holds a B.A. in Sociology from Stanford University, an MA in Sociology from the University of California - Los Angeles, and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Adam Miller

Dr. Alex Herman received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota (Mpls-St. Paul), her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from UC Davis, and graduated from the Veterinary Management Institute at Colorado State University-Fort Collins.

Prior to becoming Oakland Zoo’s full-time Vice President of Veterinary Services in September 2019, she spent fifteen years providing medical, surgical, and dental services to the Zoo in a part-time capacity. Her veterinary skills were invaluable to the California Condor Recovery team and all the animals at Oakland Zoo ­— from Amazon milky tree frogs to giraffes.  At the same time, she worked for more than two decades to develop a full-service avian, exotics, wildlife, dog, and cat practice in San Francisco.

Her goals in leading Oakland Zoo’s veterinary team are to maintain and constantly expand the most progressive standards of evidence-based veterinary care for all of the animals under the Zoo’s stewardship.

Dr.Herman lives in Berkeley with her husband and son. She cherishes the Oakland Zoo and is honored to provide the highest level of care for the fascinating and cherished animals here.

Alex Herman

Colleen Kinzley directs the Zoo's animal care, wildlife conservation, and research programs. In this role, Colleen has driven a cycle of continuous growth and improvement for animal welfare at the Zoo. This means she also helps a staff of over 50 people responsible for habitats and animal welfare to continuously grow their understanding of what makes a healthy and emotionally-positive environment for all animals. Under her guidance, Oakland Zoo has become known for its spacious habitats and behavior management programs which provide animals with freedom of choice and control over their environment.

In 1990, Colleen came to Oakland Zoo as the manager of the Zoo's elephant program, transitioning it into a protected contact system where keepers only use positive reinforcement with elephants and are always protected by a barrier. During her time at the Zoo, she has overseen the development of the African Savanna and African Village, Children's Zoo, California Trail, expansion of the elephant habitat, as well as construction or remodeling of many other habitats to continually improve animal experience. 

While earning her Master's degree from Cal State East Bay, she participated in research both at the Zoo and in Namibia studying elephant communication and social behavior. Colleen’s commitment to vital research relationships deepens the Zoo’s ties to research facilities, animal welfare advocates and leaders in the conservation of animals in the wild.

Colleen Kinzley

Kristin is responsible for engaging with philanthropists and members to fuel the Conservation Society of California’s mission to lead an informed and inspired community to take action for wildlife locally and globally.

Previously, Kristin was the Associate Director for the Exploratorium's Capital Campaign, raising funds for programmatic initiatives and endowment. 

As a Senior Consulting Director and Marketing Director for Olive Grove Consulting, a nonprofit capacity-building firm, Kristin’s work in strategic planning, fundraising and governance helped organizations like the Friends for the Alameda Animal Shelter and Bay Area Open Space Council meet their non-profit missions.

Kristin Heller

As a 14-year veteran of Oakland Zoo, Nik Dehejia’s role as Chief Executive Officer is integral to all Zoo operations. Nik’s passion for advancing the Zoo into the future, both in wildlife conservation and as a visitor destination, has been key to establishing Oakland Zoo as we know it today.

On a recent Oakland Zoo-sponsored ecotour to Africa, Nik met with many of the Zoo’s frontline conservation partners there, seeing firsthand the profound impact the Zoo’s ongoing support makes for wildlife abroad. A member of the prestigious AZA Honors and Awards Committee and the AZA Trends Committee, as well as a board member of the Regional Parks Foundation, Nik’s twin goals of Taking Action for Wildlife and over-arching future progress, drives successful projects across Oakland Zoo. His leadership has strengthened the financial position, the relationship with the local community, and the increased equity and inclusion across the organization.

Nik holds an MBA from U.C. Berkeley and has been a board member for Heyday Books, Community Initiatives, and Slide Ranch. Before Oakland Zoo, Nik worked in international public policy at the World Resources Institute and World Bank, in corporate responsibility at Business for Social Responsibility, and in a more traditionally commercial role at Levi Strauss & Co.

Nik Dehejia

Amy Gotliffe has a mission to connect human beings to nature, envisioning a planet where all species live in peaceful co-existence, which makes her a perfect fit for Oakland Zoo. 

With certifications in humane education, nature-based leadership, conservation psychology, human-wildlife conflict resolution, nature interpretation, and influencing conservation behavior change, Amy’s work at the Zoo focuses on reconnecting people with the sense of belonging to the natural world and better understanding the impact on it.

As Conservation Director at Oakland Zoo, she coordinates events and projects to meet the conservation goals of the Zoo around the world and in the Bay Area. These efforts range from building a Conservation Speaker Series, to leading international conservation expeditions to produce awareness events to coordinating the Zoo's on-site sustainability efforts. Amy drives massive and enthusiastic, inter-departmental efforts to conserve biodiversity around the globe and in their own backyards.

Amy Gotliffe

Bob Westfall oversees the Public Safety/Security, Maintenance, Grounds, and Janitorial Departments. As a 25-year veteran of the Zoo, he has contributed to many Zoo projects and improvements through his extensive background in Park Safety, Law Enforcement, Loss Prevention, Contract Security, and Operations Management. 

Bob’s focus is squarely on maintaining the Zoo's reputation as a safe environment for its guests and their families. To achieve this, Bob works with employees to deepen employee professionalism and service excellence. In his previous roles with Oakland Office of Parks and Recreation, Oakland Police Department and Children’s Fairyland on Lake Merritt, he honed the skills that bring the joy of the Zoo and security for all members of the Oakland community together.

Bob Westfall

Every adventure to Oakland Zoo is an insightfully-choreographed encounter designed by Michelle and her team and executed in collaboration with every department to achieve one goal:to positively connect visitors to the Zoo with nature by offering experiences that will last a lifetime. 

A former member of Actor’s Equity with an extensive background in theater and in visitor engagement at such high-profile vacation spots, Michelle works with her team to make every moment in the park magical. This requires not only creativity in design and story, but a clear focus on the value of the individuals who make those ideas a reality. Michelle works to develop professional growth opportunities for her team, from staff to volunteers to docents. 

Michelle’s ultimate goal is to utilize her background and her fellow Leadership Team members to cultivate an amazing group of individuals and whose passion and personalities shine for everyone welcomed into the Oakland Zoo family.

Michelle Myers

Fiona Tang

Shana Simmons

Aarti Sabhlok

Kevin Rodriguez

Peter Ross

Steve McCann

Liz Ludwig

Brian Hughes

Marv Friedman

Jessica Huard

Jennifer Esmeralda Delaney

Jennifer Fall is currently a trustee at [Oakland Zoo](/org/oakland-zoo). Jennifer has previously worked as the CFO / SVP Old Navy Global & Online, Head of Intl at Gap Inc./Old Navy, Sr. Director of Finance, Ecomm at Gap Inc. Direct, and Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Finance at Gap Inc. Fall has been responsible for all financial aspects of Old Navy across the globe, including the online business. Jennifer has also been responsible for defining Old Navy's global footprint through a succinct and disciplined real estate strategy. In their role as Sr. Director of Finance, Ecomm at Gap Inc. Direct, they were responsible for all of finance for Gap and Banana Republic Outlet businesses.

Jennifer Fall has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in International Business from [San Diego State University](/org/san-diego-state-university) and a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) in Finance, General from [San Diego State University](/org/san-diego-state-university).

Oakland Zoo

Org chart

Teams

Board of Directors

Leadership Team

CEO and Executive Team

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