Hillcrest Park Zoo names new director

Stephanie Chavez has been named director of Clovis' Hillcrest Park Zoo.

Chavez, hired about seventh months ago as a curator for the Clovis zoo, previously worked for zoos in San Antonio, Texas, and El Paso.

"When I was a young kid, this was a dream of mine," said Chavez, 29, who grew up in El Paso. "I didn't think it would ever happen, but now I'm super excited. This has been one of my dreams and aspirations."

Chavez succeeds Damian Lechner, who took a position at an Arizona zoo in the fall. Lechner, who brought Chavez to Clovis, had been at the Hillcrest Zoo about 18 months.

In an interview last month, Lechner said it was because of Chavez's talent and ability with the animals that he felt comfortable leaving.

"The Clovis zoo will still push forward under Chavez's leadership," he said. "I'm sure Stephanie will continue to make great improvements."

Chavez, whose salary will be $51,035 annually, has already been instrumental in bringing new animals to the Clovis zoo: a pair of coati, a relative of the Mexican racoon, and two ostriches.

The coati are still babies, about 15 weeks old.

Chavez said she also plans to continue efforts Lechner started toward becoming accredited with the Zoological Association of America.

"We are still in the process of being ZAA-accredited; that is our goal for the future," she said.

She said another goal is to acquire flamingos.

"Our zoo is expanding, and we have hired two new groundskeepers," she said. And, she said, "I'm training my zookeeper staff on how to train animals in new ways."

David Stevens of The News contributed to this report.