Colleen Lynch, M.S.

Hope B. McCormick Curator of Birds
Consulting Population Biologist, Population Management Center

Colleen Lynch earned a B.S. from the Illinois Benedictine College and a M.S. from Northern Illinois University. Her thesis examined kin differentiation in the Guinea baboon (Papio papio), exploring the relationship between kinship and social bonds. Upon completing her degree, she became a bird keeper and has been involved in avian husbandry and population management since that time.

As the Hope B. McCormick Curator of Birds, Lynch is responsible for creating the collection plan for bird species at the zoo, performing research and overseeing the bird department’s operations. Her research includes topics in applied population biology and the management of avian populations for long-term genetic and demographic sustainability. As an aviculturist, Lynch has specialized in artificial incubation and hand-rearing.

Lynch also serves as a consulting population biologist with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Population Management Center and is a contributor to the Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology. She participates in several reintroduction programs, providing genetic and demographic advising and developing management strategies tailored to the special needs of captive breeding for endangered species recovery in the wild.
 
Lynch serves as a member of several scientific advisory committees to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums: the Avian Scientific Advisory Group, Small Population Management Advisory Group and Reintroduction Scientific Advisory Group. She also serves as a behavioral advisor to the Baboon Species Survival Plan, as the chair of the Genetics Expertise Group and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Team member for the Channel Island Fox.