Jasmine Williams

In 2024, Jasmine Williams joined Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park as the first-ever community collaboration manager for the sister organisations.

In this role, Williams leads all elements of community partnerships, from school and community services to empathetic exhibit and interpretive planning, and beyond.

This appointment followed a decade of service at Seattle Aquarium, where she held a number of roles focusing on DEI, community and connection. Most recently, as connections program manager, Williams led an initiative to partner with nonprofit service-based organisations and build relationships within the community.

One person who nominated Williams said: “Jasmine’s approach doesn’t rely on traditional outreach. Instead, she co-creates programming with historically excluded communities, building trust through long-term relationships rather than transactional events.

"From partnering with Indigenous organizations to collaborating with youth groups and culturally specific nonprofits, her work ensures that conservation feels relevant, accessible, and welcoming to all. Her goal every day is to make sure everyone sees themselves reflected in the conservation movement and sees it as a movement they belong in.”

Another said: “Jasmine’s leadership is characterised by her ability to connect people, ideas, and action. She brings together diverse stakeholders to co-create solutions that benefit both communities and the environment. Her work demonstrates that conservation is not only about protecting wildlife but also about ensuring that all people have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from this mission.

“Through her career-long dedication to DEI, her national leadership roles, and her innovative approach to community collaboration, Jasmine Williams has become a powerful voice for equity in conservation. She exemplifies how zoos and aquariums can lead with inclusivity while advancing their environmental goals.”

Williams currently serves as the co-chair of AZA’s diversity committee, is an Executive Committee member of the Aquarium Conservation Partnership and founding chair of the ACP Equity Workgroup. She was awarded a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies by the University of Southern California.