The Detroit Zoological Society’s (DZS) top leader, Dr. Hayley Murphy, is ready to take her leadership skills to the next level.

Hayley has served as our executive director and chief executive officer since November 2021  and was recently honored by the Detroit Regional Chamber as one of the newest members of its Leadership Detroit program. Launched in 1979, Leadership Detroit is an eight-month transformational leadership program designed to challenge emerging and existing community leaders from southeast Michigan to bring about positive change. The program also aims to create awareness of key issues that affect the Detroit region. 

“I’m honored and humbled to be named a member of the newest class of the Leadership Detroit program,” Hayley says. “I’m committed to taking my leadership to the next level, challenging my previous assumptions and building relationships with the exceptional men and women who I call classmates.” 

As a member of the 43rd class of this program, Hayley is among 70 regional executives who represent a cross-section of the community, including business, organized labor, government, education, media, civic groups, health services and community organizations. After completing the program, she will join more than 2,000 colleagues who call themselves alumni of Leadership Detroit. 

“Leadership Detroit offers a unique experience that takes leaders on a journey out of their comfort zones to challenge long-held assumptions and to embrace multiple and diverse perspectives on quality-of-life issues in the Detroit region,” says Devon O’Reilly, the program’s senior director of community engagement and leadership development. “Through carefully curated sessions and experiences throughout the year, this class will have an opportunity to better connect with each other, hear directly from key regional leaders across multiple sectors, and enhance their intangible skills that will help them shape this region’s future in their positions of leadership.”

Hayley’s new involvement with Leadership Detroit is just one of the many programs she is affiliated with. She is the founder and director emeritus of the Great Ape Heart Project, an international, multi-institutional effort aimed at investigating, diagnosing and treating heart disease in great apes. She is also a veterinary advisor to the Gorilla Species Survival Plan and the Great Ape Taxonomic Advisory Group. Hayley also serves as the chair of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Ethics Board and as a board member for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.  

“I couldn’t be more excited to extend my professional development and community involvement through the Leadership Detroit program,” Hayley adds. “I’m ready to dive deep into Detroit and its history, gain new insights into leadership theory and practice, and apply what I learn at the DZS.”

Join all of us at the DZS in offering Hayley a big congratulations!