Pride In Our People: Lori

Our digital series, Pride In Our People, features the incredible staff at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium through written first-person narratives and/or podcast interviews.

Today, we are featuring Lori, the member services manager

This is her story…

As a child, my dream was to become a Veterinarian.  It wasn’t in the cards for me, but the next best thing was an opportunity to work at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. 

I started as a cashier at the front entrance right before the opening event Spring Fling. This was my first event at the Zoo and was very excited to greet all the visitors for the first time.  

After being a cashier, I was given the opportunity to fill in for the cash manager while she was on maternity leave. After that, I worked in the accounts payable position for a few months. This led me to work in membership as the membership coordinator. I joined this department in 1995, and the rest was history! 

In 1995, the Zoo had around 9,000 member households. It was my goal to make membership as successful as possible for the Zoo. Since then, I have found creative ways to get the message out about the value and connection a Zoo membership brings between you and our conservation education message. Through membership, you can enjoy unlimited visits, discounts on our camps and classes, and 50% off tickets at other Zoos and Nature Centers. I also come up with other creative benefits for our Members to enjoy. 

I also started a membership managers group here in Pittsburgh around 2014 with the staff from the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. I put this group together to brainstorm ideas about our programs. Representatives from Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the National Aviary, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, and many other cultural institutions have been meeting monthly ever since. I am now the only remaining original member. I enjoy being a mentor to those who are taking the membership journey I did.

One of the best things about working for the Zoo is my co-workers. They have grown to be like my family, and I enjoy spending every day with them. I have made great friendships here with some of those friendships being over a quarter of a century old. That’s not very common in a workplace these days.

The series is called Pride In Our People, but it’s really about the pride we have for our positions here at the Zoo. 

Thank you for all you do, lori!