Becky Malinsky is the curator of primates at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute where she oversees the care and management of seven primate species located at the Great Ape House, Gibbon Ridge, Lemur island and Think Tank buildings. She manages a staff of eight keepers and one assistant curator.

Malinsky started her career at the Zoo more than 20 years ago, in 2001. She worked her way up from a volunteer interpreter and keeper aide, to animal keeper, to assistant curator, and now heads the exhibit. Malinsky is passionate about creating connections between animals and visitors at the Zoo and how that can directly lead to conservation actions. She is excited to continue contributing to the fields of primate husbandry and management in a curatorial role.

In addition to her responsibilities at the Zoo, she serves in many roles within Association of Zoos and Aquariums organization, including as the siamang studbook keeper, gibbon species survival plan vice coordinator, and as a prosimian taxon advisory group steering committee member.

Malinsky receive her bachelor's degree in anthropology at The American University in Washington, D.C., in 1999. Following that, she was a digital imaging specialist at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum’s National Anthropological Archives for six years, while concurrently volunteering with primates at the Zoo. Her lifelong passion for primates and career goals were solidified during that experience.