VOLUNTEER VOICE October 2013 In This Issue... - Denver Zoo

Volunteer VoiceFacesBritni LeRouxJan HolmanBritni LeRoux is our new Office Manager for theEducation and Volunteer Services Department(EVSD). She began working in her Garden Level officein the Gates Center May 15th, which she remembers astwo days after the birth of snow leopard cub Misha.Many of us have not yet met her because her location isremoved from our usual volunteer activities.Britni was born in Oklahoma City and moved with herparents to Winter Park, FL, when she was two. Despitethe heat and humidity she found it a good area to liveand grow up. The University of Toronto was a beautifulchange of scene where she spent two years studying arthistory, then returned to Florida where she obtained aBachelor of Psychology degree at the University ofSouth Florida in Tampa.Back home in Winter Park, Britni worked inadministration at a Montessori school. Looking for ajob that combined her love of animals, conservation,and education, she saw a posting for the position of Britni LeRouxOffice Manager here and thought it sounded veryinteresting. Having been to Denver on vacation twice, the area and people really appealed to her, and the positionseemed a good fit for her skills and interests. There were 11 members of the Education and Volunteer ServiceDepartment involved in her interview, which obviously went very well.Britni’s job covers a vast array of responsibilities. She interacts with all the other EVSD managers and helpswhenever any of the department’s 50 employees need something. She maintains the daily schedule of GatesEducation Building room facilities; monitors the building and reports needed repairs. She acts as acommunication liaison among EVSD staff, coordinates office supply orders and inventory, and interacts dailywith other departments, staff, and volunteers. She also schedules and confirms room facilities for EVSDactivities, works on budgets, and does “anything under the sun” to help wherever it’s needed.Denver Zoo’s Red Apple Fund is another part of her responsibilities. The Fund provides need based scholarshipsto public, private and independent schools, as well as individuals, families, and community organizations. Thisallows them to participate in classes, assemblies, workshops, self-guided/guided tours, camps, career programs,home school programs and Bunk with the Beasts overnight programs, Adult Education Programs, and OutreachEducation Programs or even obtain a zoo membership. The scholarships provide a percentage of the costinvolved in these activities. The summer Ice Cream Social and September Brew at the Zoo are the majorfundraisers for the Red Apple Fund, which has provided about $1,000,000 in assistance since its start in 2001.(Continued on page 21)Page 20