By: Lori Perkins
Sprina Liu is currently the Senior Curator of Birds and Ectotherms at the Dallas Zoo and has been in the zoological industry for 25+ years. Sprina started her career as an animal keeper at Zoo Atlanta working with a variety of species and eventually worked her way into a supervisory role as Assistant Curator of Birds and Program Animals. During her tenure at Zoo Atlanta, she also took a brief hiatus in Namibia working on giraffe field research. Sprina then made the move to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney Australia where she furthered her expertise in avian husbandry and participated in various conservation projects in Australia. Sprina joined the Dallas Zoo team in 2015 where she not only leads her team in the care of the Dallas Zoo collection but is also managing multiple propagation and repatriation conservation programs including development of an offsite propagation facility for whooping cranes. While she continues to be passionate and dedicated to her work, Sprina also loves to travel, experience different cultures and cuisines, and ‘unplugging’ outdoors on camping/hiking trips.
I’ve known Sprina for most of her career – we overlapped for many years at Zoo Atlanta before she headed off Down Under and then to Dallas Zoo, where she continues to grow as a leader and role model. Sprina’s ability to get to the heart of an issue – by listening fully, asking questions, and always ensuring a safe space for honesty – is something I admire and try to emulate. She embodies the honest and empathetic leadership skills that our profession is coming to recognize as crucial to our future success.
What qualities of a great leader do you seek to embody?
A high emotional intelligence, empathy, the ability to be a good listener/communicator, collaboration, a strategic mindset, and to be authentic/trustworthy.
What advice do you have for other emerging leaders?
I believe an individual can lead in any capacity, so my advice is the same to everyone regardless of level/title/position. Be true to yourself and those around you. You cannot lead if people don’t want to follow, so take the time to build strong working relationships and solid foundations. Embrace the constant learner philosophy and be adaptable. The industry is constantly changing/improving and what is right today may be wrong tomorrow so get comfortable with change. Take advantage of opportunities which challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone. Lastly, don’t forget to take time to re-center yourself and remember why you’re travelling on your path. If it doesn’t feel/look right, get off and find the path that does.
What’s the most important risk you’ve taken in your career so far and why?
Building relationships is the key strategy here. We need to expand our relationships with community and national organizations focused on diversity—to get outside of our own community and partner with other organizations who are making strides in this realm to learn from their successes. We need to strengthen relationships with other diverse, nature and science focused organizations to build a strong, multi-tiered foundation for success. At the same time, we need to evaluate and adapt our own internal cultures to make sure they support inclusion and belonging as we grow and develop.
How do you generate great ideas in your organization?
I love to talk and brainstorm with others. I might have ideas but I’m just one brain. Gaining perspective from multiple teams/levels within the organization will create the best path forward for the entire team.
What’s your favorite part of your workday?
I’m an animal person so getting out on the grounds and talking with staff to hear about what the animals are doing is always a favorite. I also get a lot of satisfaction watching/celebrating my team’s successes.
What are your current goals?
My current goals are the same as always. To make a difference. Regardless of where I might be or what my role/title is, I just want to be a part of a collaborative team where I can contribute my skills and expertise and hopefully mentor the next generation of zoo professionals and conservationists to build on what we’re doing now…to set them up to do it better than me.
Who do you look up to for inspiration or mentorship?
This is a hard question! I find inspiration from all sorts of people and moments — the lightbulb moments, listening to someone’s passion for their animals or their job, watching someone I’m coaching finally succeed, trying to learn from someone who makes their job look effortless.
I consider myself really lucky that I have great mentors I can call at any time to bounce ideas with, help talk me through getting ‘unstuck’ without telling me what to do, give me perspective/support, and of course, call me out if I’m completely off base!
