Marla O'Donnell moved to Central Oregon in 1999 from North Idaho. After graduating high school in Nevada, she pursued an academic career in Business and Marketing and later moved into Information Technology and Computer Services. Marla has been dedicated to the Chimps Inc. mission for nearly 8 years, when she began as a new volunteer. Over the years her involvement with Chimps Inc. has evolved. She has served as a Caregiver, Special Events Volunteer Coordinator, been a member of the Fundraising Committee and held a position on the Board of Directors as well as being involved in a variety of other community events over the years. Marla has always been an advocate to animals in need so naturally she accepted the position of Sanctuary Manager when the opportunity presented itself. Marla lives in Tumalo with her family and many furry friends.

Shayla joined the Chimps, Inc team in March, 2010 as one of the primary caregivers, and also serves as Public Outreach Coordinator for the education program. Her desire to work with great apes stemmed from her deep appreciation for nature, which she acquired at the early age of 4. She's spent nearly all of her life studying the animal kingdom and remains passionate about educating others in wildlife conservation. Shayla earned her B.S. in Environmental Science/Wildlife Conservation & Resources from the University of Maryland and gained expertise by working with a wide array of native and exotic species. She began her career by volunteering at an exotic animal refuge in Pennsylvania, where she worked with spider monkeys, macaques, lions, tigers, bears, and exotic birds. While finishing her last 2 years in college, she worked as the Animal Care Coordinator for a nonprofit environmental group in Washington, D.C. There, she learned a great deal on how to create healthy habitats for a large variety of species outside of primates. In addition, Shayla also volunteered at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC as a Behavioral Monitor for the Free Range Golden Lion Tamerin Program. She completed her internship with the Great Ape Unit, where she assisted zookeepers with the daily care of Gorilla, Orangutan, Lemurs, Macaques, Siamangs, and Gibbons. Working alongside great apes at the National Zoo helped Shayla discover her niche: providing care for captive primates and also educating the public about the plights they face in the wild and captivity. Prior to Chimps, Inc, Shayla worked as a preschool teacher for children ages 2.5-5yrs. She is very grateful that her dreams have led her all the way across the country to a place where she can demonstrate her love and passion for chimpanzees. Originally a Midwestern native, Shayla graduated high school in Pennsylvania where her parents still live. In her spare time, she is an adventurous mountain climber and enjoys backpacking in the wilderness.

Allison graduated from Vassar College (in New York) with a degree in Neuroscience and Behavior in May 2011, eager to find a job working with animals. She has been a life long animal lover, initially limited to caring for gerbils (as many as 15 at once) growing up in New Hampshire. Primates have always been her primary fascination within the animal kingdom. She traveled to the Costa Rican rainforest in the summer of 2010 to attend a field primatology course and study capuchins, spider monkeys, and howler monkeys. This helped convince her to pursue a career in primatology, while also left her yearning to learn more about the primates that are our closest living relatives, chimpanzees. She first came to Chimps Inc as an intern in the fall of 2011 and never left, being hired as a caretaker in January 2012.

Rachel graduated from the University of Massachusetts in May 2010 with a degree in Animal Behavior, Education and Outreach. She has been working with animals for the past 12 years (in a variety of settings including an animal hospital, an animal rescue league and shelter, a marine turtle conservation project, and various farms) but has dreamed of working with chimpanzees since she was a young girl. She had her first opportunity to work with primates in 2009 when she took an intensive Primatology Field Methods course at the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Florida. After graduating college she had an internship with the Great Ape Department at Smithsonian National Zoo in DC where she worked with gorillas, orangutans and lemurs. She then came to Chimps Inc. for an internship and fell in love with the chimps and the sanctuary itself. A year later she had an internship at the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Lincoln Park Zoo where she participated in a behavioral monitoring research project with gorillas and chimpanzees. She recently came back to Chimps Inc. and is thrilled that her lifelong dream and passion for working with chimpanzees has finally come true.