DeLisle-Heath named as new Utica Zoo executive director

After nearly a quarter of a century in the emergency response field, the head of the local American Red Cross will make the transition to conservation and recreation.
Andria DeLisle-Heath announced Wednesday she will step down as the executive director of the American Red Cross of the Mohawk Valley on June 3 to take over the executive director’s position at the Utica Zoo on June 13.
“Although I am leaving one very important organization in our community, I am thrilled to be joining another that plays a vital role in the Mohawk Valley,” said DeLisle-Heath in a news release.
DeLisle-Heath said during an interview on Wednesday she is excited to get started at the “new Utica zoo.”
“The board and staff have had a vision that has come to fruition,” she said.
This started with the African Alley, which includes new lions, zebras, hyenas and ostriches. She said the zoo is also bringing in an Asian realm, which will include some new arrivals at the zoo. The total number of animals at the zoo by the end of the year will be 270, nearly a hundred more than the number the zoo had at the end of last year, said DeLisle-Heath.
“The Utica Zoo Board of Trustees has searched for years for a talented executive director with the leadership skills, management experience, dedication to nonprofit organizations and a true devotion to the community possessed by Ms. DeLisle-Heath,” Joseph DeTraglia, board president for the Utica Zoo, said in a news release.
“She will continue the work of the board and staff in creating a new and improved zoo, and will continue to take this organization to the next level. She brings a level of professionalism that is unmatched and we are lucky to have her as part of the Utica Zoo team,” he said.
DeLisle-Heath’s background in nonprofit service began after she got her associate’s degree in business from Herkimer County Community College and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Utica College. She said this provided her with a great background to lead at nonprofit organizations.
In 1987, she joined in a leadership role at the YWCA, which provides crisis response for domestic and sexual violence victims, before leaving to head the Red Cross chapter in Herkimer County in 1997. She took a hiatus from the organization from 1999 to 2001 to spend more time with her family, before she decided to return, which was a month before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
After the attacks, the Herkimer chapter became the training ground for several chapters for those who wanted to volunteer. She said the chapter oversaw 80 people become new volunteers after the attacks.
Then in response to Hurricane Katrina four years later, the chapter was able to send 23 people from the Mohawk Valley to assist affected areas.
Both the chapter’s response to Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina stand out as accomplishments for DeLisle-Heath during her tenure, which she points out could not have happened without the chapter’s “amazing” staff, board of directors and volunteers.
“I never did any of this alone. Even with my departure, all of these great things will carry on at the Red Cross,” she said.
DeLisle-Heath said she has many ideas for the zoo, and is excited with the direction they are going in. DeLisle-Heath said she also has a sentimental connection with the zoo, as that is where she spent her first Mother’s Day over 20 years ago.
“Living in the Mohawk Valley has allowed to me to appreciate all of the hometown attractions for entertainment and quality of life enjoyment that we have available,” she said in a news release. “The Utica Zoo is a place where fun, wonder and education all come together. I believe that each family in our region can do just a little bit to ensure that the zoo, which has provided enjoyment for over 95 years, can continue to be a local icon.”
She also said she plans to still be involved with the Red Cross as a volunteer and as a donor.
“She’s such a wonderful, wonderful representative for the Red Cross,” said Red Cross board of directors member John Cipriano. “It’s going to be really difficult to replace Andria DeLisle-Heath. A more dedicated individual you’ll never find.”