Ronda Schwetz, Henry Vilas Zoo director, has had a lifelong affinity for Madison’s popular menagerie. Growing up in McFarland, now residing in the Town of Middleton, she remembers well the exact location where her dream job at the free zoo was born.
“I was by the rhinos – the exact same ones we have today, in fact – when I first thought, ‘I want to do this some day,’” she recalled. The 43-year-old is the first female director in the 102-year-old zoo’s history. She took charge of the facility in June of 2012.
She held her first position at this zoo in 1991, as an intern while at UW-Stevens Point, in a program that continues today. After graduating in 1992 with a double major – psychology and biology- and a minor in Captive Wildlife Management, Schwetz moved to Chippewa Falls. Her stint at the Irvine Park Zoo lasted several years, gaining her valuable hands-on knowledge.