TORONTO, ON, Friday, October 25, 2024: Your Toronto Zoo is thrilled to announce Jennifer Franks, Director of Indigenous Relations, Toronto Zoo, has been recognized on the Blooloop Zoo & Aquarium Top 50 Influencer list for 2024. This list celebrates the work of 50 key individuals whose creativity, passion and drive has helped shape and improve the attractions industry.
Jennifer Franks began her role at Toronto Zoo in 2022 and remains the only Director of Indigenous Relations in any zoo in North America. We are grateful for her leadership as we work to support the truth and reconciliation calls to action and serve traditional territory holders and urban Indigenous community members. She plays an important role in helping us evolve to better reflect our City’s diversity while exploring new ways to include traditional knowledge into our mission of connecting people, animals, and conservation science to fight extinction.
Jennifer is Red River Metis and a citizen of the Manitoba Metis Federation, and with a graduate degree in community and regional planning, she has worked in the non-governmental and public sectors throughout her career. Most recently before joining your Toronto Zoo, Jennifer was the lead in advancing Indigenous place-making and place-keeping initiatives with the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Affairs Office. She has worked closely with Indigenous Elders, community leaders, youth, knowledge keepers, artists, designers and land stewards on a wide range of programs and initiatives, including the development of the City’s Reconciliation Action Plan.
Her role has had a significant impact on the Toronto Zoo team, as her role involves working with First Nations community members to help honour various species that have passed away in our care.
This has established a new way of honouring animal lives and more formally recognized staff and volunteers’ needs when mourning these losses. This change reflects your zoo’s commitment to honouring mental health needs and traditional ways of respecting these species.
To learn more about her impact: https://bit.ly/3NDa7ZT
