ARAZPA Office Staff

ARAZPA staffs two science and administration offices. The ARAZPA Executive Office is located in Sydney, and is hosted by Taronga Zoo. The ARAZPA NZ Office is hosted by Auckland Zoo in Auckland.

ARAZPA staff provide the following expertise to the association:

• Conservation and population biology
• IT and database management  
• Program management and facilitation  
• Policy development  
• Education and training
• Member services
• Publication review and editing  
• Data analysis
• Accreditation program development and implementation
• Administration

Meet the ARAZPA office staff:

Sydney Office
Martin Phillips - Executive Director   Martin Phillips is an experienced leader with a diverse background with particular expertise in organisational development and executive management. Martin joined the Association as Executive Director in March 2008. Martin started his career as an Officer in the British Army and later the Australian Army; Martin completed twelve years of service reaching the rank of Major and active duty around the world. After starting a family Martin changed career paths working for several years as a senior manager in the telecommunications sector; realising that he needed more fulfilling work he took up the CEO position with Surf Life Saving Sydney Northern Beaches. Over four and a half years Martin worked with the twenty-ones Surf Clubs and 15,000 members to successfully complete an ambitious change program to modernise the organisation. This work received 6 Federal and State Industry awards. Martin holds a BSc Physical Science from Oxford Brookes University, is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and the Junior Command and Staff College, Shrivenham University. Martin has studied at the post-graduate level in Disaster Preparedness and Management, Cranfield University and Change Management at the University of Technology Sydney. Martin also holds professional qualifications as a Certified Professional with the Association of Project Management [UK] and a Certified Mediator with the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators [Australia]. In his spare time and in between his family's travelling adventures Martin can be found surfing on Sydney's Northern Beaches or sailing with his wife Angela and daughter Emily.
Kevin Johnson - General Manager Kevin has over 27 years experience working in the zoo community, in a variety of roles. In 1981, he began working as a keeper in the veterinary department at Melbourne Zoo. Four years later he moved to the Native Mammal department at the zoo, and then in 1989, took on the role of computerising the zoo’s paper animal records system. During the four years that Kevin was the animal records officer at Melbourne Zoo, he developed some additional reports for the ARKS software, and also helped with the development of the computerised animal collection planning software, REGASP. Kevin has worked at the ARAZPA office in Sydney since 1993, and is still responsible for the support of REGASP. Kevin’s current role in ARAZPA includes providing training and user support for the animal records programs distributed by the International Species Information System (ISIS) to users throughout the region. For the past five years, Kevin has been heavily involved in the development of the next generation of ISIS software, ZIMS (the Zoological Information Management System). Most recently, Kevin has joined the staff of the IUCN/WAZA/CBSG Amphibian Ark as a half-time Taxon Officer, involved in the amphibian extinction crisis.
Hayley Findlay - Accreditation Program Coordinator Hayley Findlay, formerly of Western Plains Zoo, started with ARAZPA in June 2007 and has taken on the role of Accreditation Program Coordinator. Hayley has been working in the zoo community for the last ten years, primarily as a keeper. Hayley also coordinated the volunteer program at Western Plains Zoo for most of her time there and had more recently taken on the responsibility of implementing environmental management strategies in all areas of land management and natural resources.
Claire Ford - Program Officer Claire joined the ARAZPA team in May 2001 as Office Manager. Since completing a degree in Science (Zoology) in 1998 she has worked for the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of New South Wales assisting with science outreach activities; the Australian Geographic as store manager; and Questacon as exhibition coordinator. In her current position as Program Officer Claire is part of the species management team and is responsible for overseeing the ARAZPA Wildlife Conservation Fund and  specialist advisory groups. (Claire is cuurently on Maternity leave).
Deb Martins - Office Manager Deb has 21 years experience in accounting, in a variety of different roles, including working for large and small companies, running her own accountancy business for ten years and most recently working in a medium-sized junior school as Bursar and Office Manager/PA to the principal. Deb has recently emigrated from the UK.
Ros Wilkins - Species Management Officer Ros began her career in zoos in 1989 when she was appointed Animal Records Officer at Western Plains Zoo.  She worked at Western Plains Zoo until 1995, and during this time, she was responsible for converting all the paper records to the new ARKS system, setting up a rehabilitation database and looking after the zoo library.  Since then, Ros has worked on a contract basis, assisting a number of zoos in the region with their animal records, including the National Zoo and Aquarium, the Australian Wildlife Park at Wonderland, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Mogo Zoo. She completed the Graduate Diploma in Captive Vertebrate Management in 2005. Ros joined the ARAZPA office in May 2006, and is part of the Species Management team. She also holds the position of Species Coordinator for Cheetah, Przewalski’s horse and Scimitar oryx.
New Zealand Office
Ian Fraser - New Zealand Program Officer Ian holds the position of New Zealand Program Officer. After graduating with an MSc (hons) in Zoology from the University of Auckland in 1994 Ian worked as a keeper at Auckland Zoo for two years before taking a position with the New Zealand Department of Conservation as project manager/aviculturalist at their Black Stilt Captive Management Facility near Twizel. In 1998 Ian resigned from that captive management role to take up a succession of field based contracts with DOC on various in situ threatened species projects throughout New Zealand including kaka, mohua (yellowhead), tokoeka (kiwi), hihi (stitchbird) and kokako. As New Zealand Program Officer Ian is responsible for administering the New Zealand branch office of ARAZPA including providing technical support on species management to New Zealand ARAZPA members.
Suzy Barlow - Species Management Officer Several New Zealand member institutions have responded to the current challenges in regional species management by funding a new ARAZPA species management position to be hosted by Wellington Zoo, and Suzy Barlow was appointed to this position in mid-2007. Suzy is well known in the region through her work at ARAZPA zoos in Auckland, Perth, Adelaide, Dubbo and Melbourne. She has extensive experience with species management and the ASMP, including serving for several years on the ASMP Committee. She is also the current species coordinator for hippopotamus and black-and -white ruffed lemur in the region. Suzy will provide a significant boost to species management in the region and ARAZPA acknowledges the significant contributions of Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton Zoos that have made this appointment possible.

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