Hugh R. Quinn, Ph.D.

Hugh’s childhood passion for reptiles and amphibians grew into a lifelong career of working with animals.  After teaching high school biology in Florida for a couple of years, Hugh began his zoo career, first as Supervisor of Education at the Fort Worth Zoo, then as Zoological Curator at the Oklahoma City Zoo, next as Curator of Herpetology at the Houston Zoo, then as Director at the Topeka Zoo, and retired as General Curator at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  Along the way, Hugh earned his MS and Ph.D. degrees in biology, and held adjunct positions at Washburn, Cleveland State, and Black Hills State Universities, as well as at Oglala Lakota College. While affiliated with those schools, he taught, advised student research, and conducted his own research. He served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR), and was active in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), serving on the Board of Directors, and chairing that organization’s Turtle Advisory Group, Wildlife Conservation and Management Committee, and Field Conservation Committee.

Hugh currently resides in Missouri, and is Co-Chair of the Turtle Conservation Fund (TCF), serves on the Board of Directors and also chairs the Animal Management Committee of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), and is a member of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG).