Lily Maynard
Education
Ph.D. in Conservation, University of Florida
M.S. in Conservation, University of Florida
B.S. in Biology, Smith College
Biography
… is the Director of Global Conservation for the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. She specializes in the human dimensions of wildlife, behavior change, and impact evaluation. Lily completed her master’s and doctorate at the University of Florida in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, where she studied the conservation impacts of zoos and aquariums across North America. After studying biology at Smith College, Lily worked for years in Africa and Central America on community-based conservation projects, including the same Kenyan communities that Project Dragonfly students visit every year! These international experiences were a turning point, leading her toward conservation engagement research focused on people and communities. She was an Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leader fellow, a Conservation Programs Manager at Disney’s Animal Kingdom from 2017-2021, and in 2019, Lily started the AZA SAFE North American Monarchs program with over 100 organizations across the continent creating pollinator habitat.