San Diego Zoo

Georgeanne Irvine

Director of Corporate Publishing, San Diego Zoo Global

San Diego native Georgeanne Irvine has devoted four decades of her career to raising awareness about animals and wildlife conservation. She is currently the director of corporate publishing for San Diego Zoo Global, which includes writing books and overseeing a new publishing division, San Diego Zoo Global Press. In the 40 years that “George” has worked for the Zoo, she has also held positions in the public relations and fundraising departments.

A journalism degree from San Diego State University paved the way for George’s writing career. She is the author of nearly 25 children’s books about animals, including three titles for the Zoo’s new Hope and Inspiration series, which debuted this summer. These books feature true tales about specific animals that overcame challenges in their lives: Karen, a baby orangutan, who survived open-heart surgery; a friendly flamingo named Floyd; and the friendship between Ruuxa the cheetah and Raina, a Rhodesian ridgeback.

George is also the author of hundreds of magazine, newspaper, and web articles, many of which are illustrated with her photographs.

George’s passions are travel, photography, conservation, storytelling, Broadway musicals, and, of course, animals. Her worldwide adventures have taken her to some of the wildest places on Earth—from the jungles of Borneo and South America to the mountains of China and the glaciers of Alaska as well as the savannas of Africa and the Outback of Australia. She regularly leads tours for San Diego Zoo Global—her next trip is an around-the-world private jet expedition in January 2019—and she is often an enrichment lecturer for Silversea Cruise Lines.