Oregon Zoo Leadership

Zoo Director

Heidi Rahn

Heidi Rahn was named zoo director in 2021. Heidi previously worked at the zoo from 2013 to 2018, directing the implementation of Metro’s $125 million zoo bond program and earning national acclaim for projects prioritizing animal welfare, conservation education and sustainable infrastructure. Under her leadership, the zoo opened some of its most iconic areas, including Condors of the Columbia, Primate Forest, Polar Passage, Elephant Lands and the Education Center. The latter two projects each earned awards for excellence in innovation and exhibit design from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Heidi attributes her sustainability focus to a lifelong conservation ethic. She is passionate about creating a better future for wildlife and feels a special connection to the zoo’s work on behalf of endangered sea otters and butterflies. Heidi holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology and conservation biology from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s in business administration and sustainable operations from York University in Toronto. She received the Daily Journal of Commerce Women of Vision award in 2017 for efforts to promote opportunities for women and people of color in construction.

Heidi's family loves living in the Pacific Northwest and enjoys exploring the beauty of nature and sampling the creative food and music scenes.

Deputy Director

Utpal Passi

Utpal Passi oversees the zoo’s facilities, horticulture, public safety, employee health and safety, custodial and all major business lines, including admissions, events, attractions, food and retail.

Born and raised in India, Passi moved to the U.S. in 2001, earning a bachelor's degree in hospitality management from Pennsylvania's Widener University and an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business. He has a hospitality and restaurant management background and has worked at Oregon Zoo since 2018. Before moving to Portland, he worked at the Philadelphia Zoo.

He deeply loves and appreciates the opportunity provided by his role to improve people’s lives by connecting them with animals and inspiring them to act on their behalf. A father of three, Passi enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest with his wife and children.

Culture and inclusion manager

Lori Ford

Lori Ford oversees employee engagement, DEI initiatives, the administration team, as well as spearheading special projects.

Lori has been with the Oregon Zoo for more than 30 years, in multiple roles. Starting in a part-time position in the cash office, her passion for people led her to become the recruitment and training manager for the guest services department. From there, she lead training and special projects before taking on leadership of the administration team. She has seen many changes at the Oregon Zoo and its significant growth as a world class zoo.

Lori is a lifelong Oregonian who grew up coming to the zoo. She especially appreciates how accessible both the coast and Mt. Hood are to the Portland area.

Director of Animal Health

Carlos Sanchez, DVM MSc

Dr. Carlos Sanchez oversees the veterinary programs, animal hospital, and animal nutrition at the Oregon Zoo.

Dr. Sanchez was born in Bogota, Colombia, but grew up in Mexico City; He received a master's in science from the Royal Veterinary College in London sponsored by the British government, and in 2000 became the first Latin-American veterinarian to be accepted in an approved 3-year Zoo-Medicine Residency in the United States at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Dr. Sanchez worked at the Smithsonian National Zoo for seven years before joining two larger zoos before landing at Oregon Zoo.

He strives to provide excellent animal care with the goal of enhancing animal welfare and contributing to conservation programs.

Director of education and conservation

Melanie Sorensen

As the director of education and conservation, Melanie Sorensen develops and implements an education plan as well as a conservation action plan. She leads zoo strategic priorities focusing on conservation and education and supervises the conservation manager, education manager and the program impact manager. Melanie has worked in the zoo field for more than 24 years including as a zookeeper, naturalist, and program coordinator at the Minnesota Zoo for 15 years. She was the director of education at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO and most recently spent six years as the Senior Director of Conservation Education at the Houston Zoo before coming to Oregon in 2022. She put a high value on nature and wildlife from a young age, exploring lakes, marshes, and the forests of Minnesota. Melanie has admired the Oregon Zoo’s dedication to local species recovery and feels proud to be a part of the team. Her favorite part of living in the PNW is the incredible access to outdoor recreation. She spends weekends skiing Mt. Hood, hiking in the Columbia River Gorge, or walking the Oregon coast. Oregon has instilled in her a newfound love of moss which is evident in all of its forms and colors here year-round. Besides the beautiful nature, she has also enjoyed the variety of cuisines found in the vibrant Portland restaurant scene.

Director of marketing

Krista Swan

Krista Swan provides strategic direction for public-facing initiatives and manages the zoo brand. Her team manages marketing and creative services, including graphic interpretation and public art.

Krista began her zoo career as the public event coordinator in 1999, which included the creation, management and marketing of mission-supporting events that brought the community together and raised significant funds for the zoo. From 2000 to 2012, she managed the Oregon Zoo Summer Concert Series, before stepping aside to take over marketing for the whole zoo. She's been the head of the marketing team since 2018.

Krista’s passion is connecting to nature, and she believes that accredited zoos and aquariums have the greatest potential to mobilize people to love and act for the planet and all its inhabitants.

Animal welfare and research manager

Nadja Wielebnowski, Ph.D.

Nadja Wielebnowski oversees the welfare and research program, the endocrine and behavior lab as well as the internal Animal Welfare Committee and Research Review Committees for the Oregon Zoo. She is also an adjunct professor at Portland State University and oversees the joint Oregon Zoo-PSU graduate program in welfare and conservation of wildlife.

Nadja received her Ph.D. in Ecology as a Fulbright scholar at the University of California, Davis, a master's in Zoology and a bachelor's in Biology from the University of Vienna, Austria. From 1997-2001 she was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), Front Royal, Virginia. Subsequently Wielebnowski held positions as curator, Head of Endocrinology and Behavior Research, Director of Conservation Science and finally VP of Conservation Science at the Chicago Zoological Society where she helped to establish a Center for Zoo Animal Welfare Science and worked on the development of welfare monitoring tools. She was hired at the Oregon Zoo in 2012 as Conservation and Research Manager. For the past 30 years, her research has focused on the behavioral endocrinology of animal stress and its implications for animal conservation and well-being.

Her goal is to use evidence-based welfare assessments to inform and enhance animal management decision-making, as well as general husbandry, exhibit design, and other aspects of the welfare of animals in human care. The success of conservation programs and of guest support hinges on providing the best possible animal care and welfare.

Curator of primates and ambassador animals

Kate Gilmore

Kate Gilmore oversees the primate program for the Oregon Zoo. She has also reshaped the ambassador animal department to prioritize increasing guest engagement opportunities.

Kate holds degrees in Zoology and Communications/Environmental Studies, and after stints at several AZA institutions and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, spent the majority of her career at the Los Angeles Zoo specializing in great apes and African-Eurasian monkeys. She currently continues this interest as a member of the Chimpanzee SSP Steering Committee. She has worked to build programs focusing on high animal wellbeing standards, staff satisfaction, and guest engagement. By connecting the community to conservation and the wonders of wildlife both locally and globally, she hopes to inspire action.

curator of birds, reptiles and native conservation

Travis Koons

Travis Koons leads the bird and reptile teams along with the North America section of the zoo. He also manages all native conservation programs, including the California condor and Oregon silverspot butterfly propagation and the Western pond turtle and Northern leopard frog head start programs. Additionally, Koons leads partnerships with Pacific Lamprey relocation, North American beaver relocation, and various local hatcheries for Oregon Zoo's Salmon in the Classroom partnership. He has also taken on a lead role with the emergency firearm response team for the Oregon Zoo.

Koons holds degrees in Zoology and Chemistry and began his career as a zookeeper working in San Antonio. He later moved to managing the mammal team and commissary at the Dallas World Aquarium, before returning to San Antonio as Supervisor of Birds where he was subsequently selected as Bird Curator in 2017. In 2022, Koons took on the North America section at Oregon Zoo and loves the constant involvement in species recovery programs that the position presents.

His goal is to lead programs that promote Oregon Zoo’s continuous improvement and meaningful involvement in the native wildlife populations of the Pacific Northwest, while fostering guest experiences through accessible and educational wildlife interactions. He also hopes to create lasting change for key regional ecosystems by leveraging wildlife reintroduction, relocation, and conservation efforts with crucial partnerships.