Faculty Profiles
Rock Creek Bldg 7, Rm 202 | Faculty Department Chair: Joyce Kaplan | 971-722-7688
Joyce Kaplan- Joyce grew up in Los Angeles and has been involved and working in zoos since high school at the Los Angeles Zoo. She holds a BS in Biology/Animal Physiology from Cornell University and an MS in Zoology from the University of Idaho, has worked at a variety of zoos and other animal facilities in every region of the country, and for 14 years was the director of a zoo animal technology degree program in Florida. Highlights of her career have been developing opportunities for students to obtain valuable experience that has helped them pursue successful careers at some of the best zoos, and taking students to Africa to share their experience with international colleagues. Serving as an advocate for best practices animal management and conservation education regionally and internationally is her passion. Joyce teaches Introduction to Zoo Science, Animal Nutrition, Captive Population Management, and the Zoo Biology & Management 4-course series.
Dr. Diana CorwinDr. Diana Corwin has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Montana State University, pursued graduate work in Biology at San Diego State University, and earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee. Her years of experience in a diverse range of animal care and research settings includes work in animal shelters, large and small animal veterinary clinics, the Louisville Zoo’s veterinary hospital and wildlife rehabilitation program, university field studies in radio-collaring deer, and research at the San Diego Zoo. She has also been trained as an Oregon Zoo Guide and taught educational programs for the Audubon Society of Portland.
Dr. Corwin teaches Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy and Physiology I & II for the BAMZA department as well as serving as an Anatomy and Physiology instructor for PCC's Biology and Veterinary Technology departments.
Jenny DeGroot -
Jenny grew up in the Chicago area, and first began her career in the animal field as a volunteer and intern at Shedd Aquarium. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University. As an animal keeper for over a decade, Jenny has worked at multiple zoos and aquariums with a variety of species including marine mammals, birds, carnivores, fish and invertebrates, and reptiles. She also spent a portion of her career rehabilitating wildlife, researching endangered birds, and had a pet-sitting side business for several years before moving to Portland. She is an active member of the International Marine Animal Trainers' Association (IMATA), and she has published her work and presented at multiple conferences.
Jenny is currently a keeper at Oregon Zoo, and is passionate about animal training and enrichment. She teaches the Cooperative Education courses in PCC's BAMZA department, and looks forward to developing and teaching the Zoo Animal Behavior Management course.
Dr. Lisa Harrenstien-
Dr. Lisa Harrenstien is a graduate of Duke University (BS – Zoology) and North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.). She has worked as a small-animal/exotics private practitioner, a clinical intern in exotic/wildilife/zoo animal medicine at Kansas State University, a postdoc in veterinary pathobiology at the University of Tennessee, a clinical resident and faculty member in zoological medicine at UC Davis, and in 2005 became a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine. Dr. Harrenstien has worked with a variety of projects involving contraceptive use in zoo carnivores, reintroduction of red wolves into the Southeast, and disease surveillance in zoological species. She was a clinical veterinarian at the Oregon Zoo for 14 years and currently works as a consultant for captive and free-ranging wildlife medicine, including recent work at the National Zoological Park, Houston Zoo, various exotics-focused private practices, and serving as the veterinary advisor for the Species Survival Plan of the endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit. Dr. Harrenstien brings this wealth of knowledge and experience to PCC’s BAMZA students in the Veterinary Procedures and Treatments for Zookeepers course.
Dr. Brad Krohn- Dr. Brad Krohn is a veterinarian and Director of PCC’s Veterinary Technology program. He has a special interest in fish medicine/aquatic environments and is developing and teaching Zoo Water Quality Management in the BAMZA department. He lectures on fish medicine/aquaculture within the VT program where he also teaches small animal Anesthesiology and Surgical Nursing. Dr. Krohn is a graduate of the University of Illinois (B.S. Biology) and Mississippi State University - College of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.). He completed a post-graduate internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada and is an alumnus of the AquaVet program held at the National Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Dr. Krohn sees fish patients during the summer with his business Aquatic Veterinary Services of Oregon. In his spare time he enjoys playing ice hockey, riding café racers, reading, and collecting books and records.
Meghan Martin-
Meghan grew up in Springerville, Arizona and holds a BA in Biology from Reed College and an MS (completing a PhD) in Biology from Portland State University. Her graduate research has included the effects of mate choice in captive breeding of both endangered pygmy rabbits at the Oregon Zoo and in giant pandas at the BiFengXia captive breeding center in Ya'An, China, which is a multi-institutional collaboration between the Oregon Zoo, San Diego Zoo, and China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. Meghan is also executive director of a local conservation and research non-profit, PDXWildlife, and has worked with a variety of other species including Asian elephants and rhesus macaques. Highlights of her career have been developing international internships for students to obtain valuable conservation experiences at the global level, and helping breeding managers develop more successful breeding programs. Meghan whole-heartedly believes in her non-profit’s motto, "conserving species through research, community education, and science" and hopes to pass this passion onto her students in her Conservation Biology course.
Renee O'Neill -
Renee grew up in the Pacific Northwest where she developed her enthusiasm for sharing about our natural world. As an environmental educator she has led, coordinated, and developed programs at organizations such as Columbia Springs Environmental Center, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Salish Sea Expeditions, and the Hatfield Marine Science Center. In addition to her work as an educator, Renee spent many years living and working throughout Alaska as a fisheries field biologist for the International Pacific Halibut Commission.
Renee has an undergraduate degree from Oregon State University where she majored in Fisheries Biology and minored in Zoology. She holds a Master’s of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington. Renee works with the Cooperative Education students in PCC’s BAMZA department.
Linda Richardson -
Linda has been a registered Landscape Architect in Oregon since 1990 and has played a leading role in several firms and managed projects both in the Pacific NW and in Kenya. Additionally, she served as the horticulture manager of the Oregon Zoo for nine years, including maintenance of botanical collections, landscape and irrigation design and construction management for exhibits and specialty gardens, and development of plant conservation, horticulture education and volunteer programs. Linda has a BS in Landscape Architecture from Oregon State University, and holds a Master’s of Arts degree in Intercultural Studies. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Zoological Horticulture.
Linda is dedicated to the concept that animal caretakers should have a good basic knowledge about plant care, invasive, browseable and toxic plants, and the importance of plants in exhibit design, animal health, and enrichment. She shares her enthusiasm for these topics in the Horticulture for Zookeepers course.
Julia Walz -
Julia grew up in southern California where she had her first internship at the Santa Ana Zoo. She holds a BS in Evolution and Ecology from UC Davis and an MS in Biology (Behavioral Ecology) from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Julia has volunteered at the California Raptor Center, maintained a fish behavior laboratory, and worked with a wide variety of species at several zoological facilities on the West Coast. She has worked at the Oregon Zoo in the education department, the insect zoo, and currently in the bird and marine life departments and as a family farm mentor. In her spare time Julia enjoys spending her time in the great outdoors gardening, hiking, camping, and wildlife watching.
Julia is passionate about discovering and sharing how and why animals behave as they do, so she is excited to engage and immerse her students in the Introduction to Animal Behavior course.