Denise Verret:
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanic Gardens
Can you name the fastest land mammal in North America? If you guessed pronghorn, you’re right. In the world, they’re second only to the cheetah.
A team from UC Riverside met some friendly and very fast pronghorns along with giraffes, chimpanzees, and okapis while interviewing UCR alumna Denise Verret at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The zoo, according to Denise, represents the best of Los Angeles, a place she loves dearly and has dedicated her life to serving. In 2019, after three decades working for the city of Los Angeles, Denise was named CEO and director of the zoo, becoming the first African American woman to lead a major U.S. zoo.
In this wild episode of The Creator State, Denise shares her love for animals and LA during an interview with UCR Magazine editor Omar Shamout inside The Lair, the reptile and amphibian house at the LA Zoo.
More from this episode:
• Head of the Pack (UCR Magazine winter 2020)
• LA Zoo: Denise Verret is the first African American female zoo director of an AZA-accredited zoo (Video)
• Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens