Christina Dembiec

BA, Biological Anthropology, Texas A&M University, 2000 
MSc, Primate Conservation, Oxford Brookes University, 2002
MEd, Leadership and Learning: Instructional Leadership and Organizational Development, Jacksonville University, 2017
GradCert, Instructional Design, Jacksonville University, 2020

Christina has always been inspired by the natural world and since a young age, has wanted to work to protect and conserve it. Her MSc research involved piloting soft releases of blue-eyed black lemurs into a free-ranging environment as a case study for reintroductions. Inspired by graduate coursework in conservation learning, she entered the education field and began work in outdoor, environmental, and experiential education.  

She has since worked in conservation education, primarily within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) community, for over two decades. She led programs, teams, and departments in four AZA-accredited facilities throughout the United States. She has been an instructor for many AZA professional development courses and served in official roles within AZA’s Professional Development Committee, AZA’s Ambassador Animal Scientific Advisory Group, and the Training and Development Committee for the International Zoo Educators Association (IZE).

Christina joined CPSG in 2024 as the Training Program Officer, to support the implementation, evaluation, and reporting on CPSG’s IMLS grant to increase capacity for conservation planning, specifically within AZA’s SAFE programs, and within the wider conservation community.