LATEST UPDATES
The Austin zoo protest
 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |
HOLD AUSTIN ZOO LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABLE
PATTI CLARK
Executive Director of Austin Zoo
Until recently, Patti Clark served as both the Executive Director and President of the Board of Austin Zoo. These two positions are normally held by separate people for the sake of accountability and checks and balances. Holding both positions simultaneously gave her unlimited power to appoint whoever she desired to the board while making it almost impossible to remove her from either position. She recently stepped down as President of the Board. Before stepping down, she brought in four new Board Members who are friends of hers and vendors to the zoo.
RICK KING
Austin Zoo Board Member and Lawyer
Rick King is a Board Member of the Austin Zoo who has been openly critical of employee claims. According to the Austin American Statesman article "Turmoil at the Austin Zoo", King was part of the team that investigated keeper claims in their 54-page letter to the board. An excerpt from the article:
"The five-member board designated three members to investigate the letter’s claims... Part of that committee’s role was also to examine Clark’s leadership, King told the Statesman. Emails obtained by the newspaper show King forwarded the committee-only emails, as well as communications with the still-anonymous letter writers, to Clark.
In one mid-August exchange about a bobcat and a wolf the zookeepers believed to be in pain, King reminded the three committee members to keep emails between themselves. Copies of emails show he then forwarded the thread to Clark, warning her not to tell then-board member Tammy Greenblum."
