Back to all Experts

Maureen Leahy

Department

Animal Care, Horticulture, & Facilities

Title

Senior Vice President

Education

B.A. – Anthropology, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana

Areas of Expertise

Animal care and welfare
Zoo exhibit design
Project management
Animal advocacy

About

Maureen has nearly 30 years of experience working in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. She joined Lincoln Park Zoo in 2007 as Zoological Manager of Primates and later served as Curator of Primates, contributing to the development of Regenstein Macaque Forest and collaborating with the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes on animal welfare and behavioral research.

As Senior Vice President, Maureen oversees strategic and operational leadership for Animal Care, the Animal Welfare Science Program, Veterinary Services, Horticulture, and Facilities operations, including buildings, grounds, and campus infrastructure. She also leads major capital initiatives, including serving as project lead for the restoration and renovation of Pepper Family Wildlife Center.

Maureen contributes to the profession as an AZA Accreditation Inspector and has completed AZA’s Executive Leadership Development Program.

Publications

Alba, A. C., Ferrie, G. M., Schook, M. W., Leahy, M., & Cronin, K. A. (2023). Gender and age, but not visual context, impact wildlife attitudes and perceptions of animals in zoos. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 4(1), 118–131. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg4010013
Cronin, K. A., Leahy, M., Ross, S. R., Wilder Schook, M., Ferrie, G. M., & Alba, A. C. (2022). Younger generations are more interested than older generations in having non-domesticated animals as pets. PLoS One, 17(1), e0262208. “https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262208
Fowler, K. J., Hopper, L. M., Ross, S. R., Leahy, M., & Santymire, R. M. (2022). Monitoring the behavior and stress physiology of male gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) for one year following bachelor group formation. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 10(1), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.19227/jzar.v10i1.593
Ramont, M., Leahy, M., & Cronin, K. A. (2021). The welfare of domestic goats (Capra hircus) in a zoo-based animal–visitor interaction program. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 8(4), 493–506. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.08.04.04.2021
Leinwand, J. G., Moyse, J. A., Hopper, L. M., Leahy, M., & Ross, S. R. (2021). The use of biofloors in great ape zoo exhibits. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 9(1), 41–48. https://doi.org/10.19227/jzar.v9i1.544
Ramont, M., Leahy, M., & Cronin, K. A. (2021). Domestic animal welfare at the zoo: The impact of an animal visitor interaction program on chickens. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 8, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.08.01.01.2021
Cronin, K., Martens, A., Ness, T., Leahy, M., Ross, S. (2020). Sex and season predict wounds in zoo-housed Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata): A multi-institituional study. Zoo Biology 39(3):147–155. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21533
Jacobson, S., Hopper, L., Shender, M., Ross, S., Leahy, M., McNernie, J. (2017). Zoo visitors’ perceptions of chimpanzee welfare are not affected by the provision of artificial environmental enrichment devices in a naturalistic exhibit. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 5(1), 56–61. https://doi.org/10.19227/jzar.v5i1.250
Jacobs, R., Ross, S., Wagner, K., Leahy, M., Meiers, S., Santymire, R. (2014). Evaluating the physiological and behavioral response of a male and female gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) during an introduction. Zoo Biology, 33(5), 394–402. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21143

Search

Featured Events