Who We Are

Executive Director: Richard Zimmerman

Richard Zimmerman is the Founding Director of Orangutan Outreach, a New York-based non-profit organisation whose mission is to save the critically endangered orangutans and protect their rainforest home. Richard was born in Michigan and grew up in Southern California, where his love for orangutans was fostered by frequent visits to the Los Angeles and San Diego Zoos. His passion was reignited years later when he was living in Barcelona and made regular visits to the Barcelona Zoo to see Snowflake, the albino gorilla. It was in the enclosure around the corner from the gorilla that Richard first set eyes on a giant Cheekpadder orangutan named Moe. Richard spent many afternoons sitting near Moe, who was always alone on a barren slab of concrete with little enrichment and no companions.

Years later, while living in New York City and working for the United Nations, Richard first learned that orangutans were critically endangered in the wild and that extinction was a very real threat. He decided to volunteer for several UK-based orangutan conservation organizations, offering his skills as a web developer to help them update and manage their websites. In 2006 Richard took a trip to Indonesia to see wild orangutans with his own eyes. What he found instead was the near total destruction of the forests of Borneo and Sumatra and hundreds of orphaned orangutans being cared for in rescue centers. Richard realized immediately that he had to do more to protect orangutans. A year later he traveled to Indonesia again to meet more stakeholders on the ground, and when he returned to New York he decided to follow his heart and start his own non-profit, Orangutan Outreach. The organization quickly began to thrive thanks to an affiliation with the Animal Planet series Orangutan Island. With little more than his Mac, his iPhone and his will to save orangutans by working with like-minded groups and individuals around the world, Richard has raised over a million dollars for orangutan conservation and made a real difference in the lives of orangutans. He has expanded Orangutan Outreach to work with an increasing number of partners and is now working with the UK-base International Animal Rescue (IAR) to build a new state-of-the-art orangutan rescue and rehabilitation center in Ketapang, West Kalimantan.  {:(|}

Program Coordinator: Colleen Reed

Colleen Reed is a life-long wildlife conservationist. She grew up in the woods of Florida, following her dog, the horses, and the abundance of wildlife in her neighborhood. At an early age, she became enthralled with Jane Goodall and her chimpanzees, and began volunteering with animal organizations throughout Florida. Colleen holds a BS in Zoology and Anthropology from the University of Florida. She has been a docent at the Central Florida Zoo, a Jane Goodall Institute ChimpanZoo observer, and a volunteer for the Center for Great Apes. After college, she became a great ape caregiver with Patti Ragan and the team at the Center for Great Apes. There, she helped care for 43 chimpanzees and orangutans, all from pet trade, the entertainment industry (circus, commercials, movies, live performances), or cognitive research. She is now living in New York City, with her husband, and working with Orangutan Outreach to help raise awareness of what her orangutan friends are facing in the wild and what we can do to help.

Orangutan Outreach Europe

We are branching out and would like to introduce the official representative of Orangutan Outreach Europe, Ms. Asli Han Gedik. Asli is a longtime supporter and loyal friend of Orangutan Outreach. She has adopted orangutans and is constantly spreading the word throughout her extensive social networks– online and off! Learn more about Asli.

Artist in Residence

Alina Bachmann has been a friend and supporter of Orangutan Outreach since 2009. We fist met Alina when she was an art student at the College of New Rochelle in New York. She designed our ORANG mama & baby logo that is featured on our tee-shirts and hoodies. She also created several sets of orangutan drawings that we use on Halloween and Valentines Day. Learn more about Alina.

THE GREAT CHEEKPADDER (our patron saint)

Be a voice for those who cannot speak. ~ The Great Cheekpadder

The problems we face today are merely a result of the problems someone else didn’t have the courage to face yesterday. ~ The Great Cheekpadder

Be wary of anyone who lacks love in their life. They will steal your spark and take it with them into the abyss. ~ The Great Cheekpadder

Defining one’s principles and then making the conscious decision to live by them is the mark of a mature mind. ~ The Great Cheekpadder