Director of Wildlife Care, San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Dr. Kristi Burtis is the Director of Wildlife Care for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and joined the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance team in 2019 bringing over 30 years of experience in wildlife welfare and education, having been a leader at SeaWorld and teaching at various institutions across San Diego. As the Director of Wildlife Care at the Safari Park, Kristi leads a team of more than 200 wildlife care specialists responsible for more than 3,600 animals representing more than 300 species at the Safari Park, including African elephants, carnivores, macropods, marsupials, birds, and herds of rhinos, giraffes, cape buffalo and countless herds of hoofstock. Her responsibilities also include population sustainability and long-range strategic plans supporting the organization's education and global conservation efforts, and by participating in an expansive national and international network of accredited zoos and aquariums, Kristi also manages relationships with other partners and conservation organizations to assess wildlife population health and multi-institutional conservation efforts worldwide. 

Kristi received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from San Diego State University, and her Doctorate in Management and Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix.