Claire O'Hanlon
Columbia,SC
Summary
Responsible and dedicated animal care professional with proven abilities in guest enagement and maintaining facilities at high standards. Meets animal needs with compassion and love for every creature. Offers excellent time management, multitasking and organizational skills, as well as people skills.
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
Work History
Mammal Swing Keeper
Riverbanks Zoo And Garden
01.2023 - Current
- Worked with a wide variety of taxa; performing both daily and specialized husbandry such as cleaning, diet preparation, feeding, watering, training, and enrichment.
- Administered medications, and closely monitored animals for signs of disease, injury, and illness.
- Built strong relationships with veterinary staff, upper management, and several different mammal teams to ease intra- and interdepartmental communication.
- Filled out daily reports, enrichment and training logs, as well as other record keeping in ZIMS.
- Assisted teams with habitat and barn redesign and perching projects that required the use of power tools.
- Trained as a primary and secondary on a two-lock, two-key system for dangerous animals.
- Engaged with guests giving keeper chats and presentations about conservation and the zoo's welfare practices.
- Partook in professional development opportunities, staying current on industry trends and advances in mammal care techniques.
African Journey Keeper
Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
04.2022 - 12.2022
- Supported animal welfare by caring for both physical and mental health needs through delivery of specialized enrichment.
- Managed facilities upkeep, including cleaning and restocking service areas and enclosures.
- Cared for reticulated giraffes and trained husbandry behaviors including voluntary hoof care.
- Filled out daily reports and training logs, as well as other record keeping in ZIMS.
- Assisted in team projects to prepare for USDA inspections.
- Provided tours and group activities for teen camp groups with the giraffes.
- Trained new seasonal staff, interns, and teen volunteers.
- Participated in San Diego Global Zoo online courses and gained certificates in classes such as Animal Welfare Professional and Environmental Enrichment.
Kennel Technician
Canine Design Salon & Country Club
11.2021 - 03.2022
- Followed pet care instructions for dietary needs and medication regimens and logged information appropriately when administered.
- Monitored animals for behavioral problems and signs of health issues while in playrooms.
- Restocked supplies and rotated items to maintain efficient operations and prevent expiration of perishable goods.
- Reset playrooms rooms between groups and disinfected equipment, floors, and kennels multiple times daily.
Keeper Assistant
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
07.2021 - 03.2022
- Managed facilities upkeep, including cleaning and restocking service areas and enclosures.
- Cared for animals such as large cats, wallabies, giraffes, and penguins among others, with regular feeding and watering as well as enrichment and training.
- Prepared food and medicines to meet individual needs of animals under care.
- Observed animals to identify signs of injury, illness, discomfort, disease, or other behavioral abnormalities and.
- Filled out daily reports using ZIMS (zoological information management system).
- Handled animals for both husbandry and public education purposes.
- Interacted with guests to maintain positive experiences and provide information on animals at zoo.
Animal Care Intern
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
05.2021 - 07.2021
- Observed behavioral changes in animals to detect illness or injury.
- Promoted optimal animal health by feeding and watering on regular schedule and preparing diets and meds carefully.
- Managed facilities upkeep, including cleaning and restocking service areas and enclosures.
- Assisted with team projects to prepare for re-accreditation by AZA
- Learned about positive reinforcement training strategies.
- Elicited species-specific behaviors by creating and implementing behavioral enrichment activities.
Peer Assisted Study Session Leader
James Madison University
08.2020 - 12.2020
- Created multi-platform lesson plans and activities for biology students.
- Helped facilitate group learning both virtually and in-person for students who were struggling with lecture content.
- Participated in diversity seminars and training.
- Gathered statistics on test scores and presented on the benefits of attending peer-assisted tutoring sessions at JMU's Biosymposium.
Data Entry Clerk
NEXT Molecular Analytics
05.2020 - 08.2020
- Input patient information into company database to provide leaders with quick access to essential patient data.
- Identified and corrected data entry errors to prevent duplication across systems.
- Adhered to strict data confidentiality policies to prevent patient information leakage.
- Assisted with patient swabbing at nursing homes for COVID-19 testing.
- Put together test kits for doctors offices to test for COVID-19.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Biology And Ecology
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA05.2021
Skills
- Critical thinking
- Data management & analysis
- Flexible
- Animal Handling & Training
- Animal Observations
- Working collaboratively
- Communication
- Creativity
- Public Presentation
Timeline
Mammal Swing Keeper
Riverbanks Zoo And Garden
01.2023 - Current
African Journey Keeper
Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
04.2022 - 12.2022
Kennel Technician
Canine Design Salon & Country Club
11.2021 - 03.2022
Keeper Assistant
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
07.2021 - 03.2022
Animal Care Intern
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
05.2021 - 07.2021
Peer Assisted Study Session Leader
James Madison University
08.2020 - 12.2020
Data Entry Clerk
NEXT Molecular Analytics
05.2020 - 08.2020
Bachelor of Science - Biology And Ecology
James Madison University
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