Zoo Foundation Welcomes New Board Members

LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock Zoo is proud to welcome four new board members to the board of directors of the Arkansas Zoological Foundation (AZF), a non-profit raising funds and support for the Zoo.

Kirby Miraglia, Vice President, Senior Private Wealth Strategies for Simmons Bank, Velois Bowers, Owner, VHB Diversity and Inclusion Consultants, Greg Mccarrol, Senior Vice President, Centennial Bank, and Mitsy Tharp, Owner/realtor, Signature Properties, were all recently elected to serve.

AZF is responsible for raising funds for Zoo programs and capital projects and also hosts annual fundraisers such as Wild Wines and Zoo Brew. Generation Zoo is a young professionals auxiliary of the foundation that hosts Cinco de Rhino, an event raising funds for wild rhino conservation on May 5. AZF has most recently raised funds for a new collared lizard habitat that opened last year as part of a special breed and release partnership with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and other partners.

Kirby Miraglia is Vice President for Senior Private Wealth Strategies for Simmons Bank. Prior to serving with Simmons, Kirby served as an attorney with Wright, Lindsey and Jennings, LLP in Little Rock where she focused on estate planning, estate and trust administration, business succession planning and municipal finance.

Velois Bowers owns

VHB Diversity and Inclusion Consultants and prior to owning her own company Velois served as Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at CHRISTUS Health in Dallas, TX, comprised of more than 350 services and facilities and 300,000 employees. Velois has also served as an executive with Kellogg Company and the Whirlpool Corporation.

Greg Mccarroll is Senior Vice President of Centennial Bank and has over 20 years of experience in the financial industry and has been with Centennial Bank for the past 10 years as a commercial banker in Little Rock. Greg is currently responsible for managing a commercial loan portfolio primarily in Central Arkansas.

Mitsy Tharp is owner of

Signature Properties and has been in the real estate business for more than 15 years. Her company primarily serves the central Arkansas market.

To learn more about AZF and its donor programs go to arkzoofoundation.org.

About the Zoo:

The Little Rock Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you and a better future for all living things. With its more than 200 accredited members, AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation and your link to helping animals in their native habitats. For more information, visit www.aza.org.

For more information on

Little Rock Zoo, visit www. littlerockzoo.com or call 501661-7200.