Dean gibson
Board Member
Dean has worked with primates for over 40 years. As the Curator of Primates at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, she currently focuses on ensuring high standards of care and management practices for primates as well as supporting their ongoing conservation needs. Most recently, she established and provided oversight for SDZWA’s Masoala Project for the critically endangered red-ruffed lemur.
Dean graduated from San Diego State University with a BS in Zoology and completed an MSc in Forest Science & Wildlife Ecology at Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. After completing her graduate degree, she relocated to Madagascar in the role of Project Coordinator for the Madagascar Fauna Group and spent the next three years working on lemur conservation. Dean returned from Madagascar to join the Duke Lemur Center as the Assistant Director, where she continued to focus on lemur management and conservation efforts in Madagascar. While at Duke, Dean also served as the International Coordinator for the first reintroduction of captive-born lemurs to wild populations in Madagascar.
Dean has traveled extensively throughout her career in search of wild primates. She is an avid gardener and enjoys being outdoors.