Kimberly Terrell – Memphis Flyer

The Memphis Zoo denies that a former female employee “was discriminated or retaliated against” because of her gender.

Kimberly Terrell, a female conservation biologist, sued the zoo in December. She claimed she was fired from her job as the zoo’s director of research and conservation based on gender discrimination.

Her attorneys are suing the zoo for damages in excess of $75,000, including back pay, lost benefits, employment reinstatement, punitive damages, and all court fees.

J. Mark Griffee, the attorney for the zoo, responded to Terrell’s original lawsuit in mid-March, saying her claims of discrimination were unfounded.

In that original suit, Terrell painted a picture of an ongoing tension that grew between her and zoo president Chuck Brady. She said she’d built a “strong record of success at the zoo,” but Brady increasingly attacked her performance and she felt it was because she was female.

Memphis Zoo/Twitter

Brady (left), Terrell (right)

The zoo’s attorney refutes this, noting Terrell was giving a “substandard performance of her duties.” It was the reason, he said, Terrell received only standard bonuses and no pay raise one year.

“… On November 27, 2017, Dr. Terrell was terminated for failure to perform job duties as instructed, dereliction of duties, and willful misconduct,” reads the attorney’s answer to Terrell’s complaint.

As for direct misconduct, zoo officials said Terrell “willfully disobeyed a clear, written, and direct order in September 2017” regarding the planned artificial insemination of one of the zoo’s elephants.

The zoo’s attorney said Terrell created a hostile work environment when she “fired or forced the resignation of multiple employees.” Though, Terrell claimed her employees had “cordial relationships.”

The zoo denied a long list of accomplishments Terrell claimed in her two years with the zoo, including 15 new science projects and partnerships with groups like the University of Memphis, and the Omaha Zoo.

The zoo refuted the claim that Brady did not give Terrell regular performance reviews until she suggested his treatment of her was related to her gender. Also, the zoo’s attorney said Brady did take notes during the meetings, provided “pages” of feedback during subsequent performance reviews, and did give those notes to Terrell when she asked for them.

However, the zoo admitted Brady called Terrell “emotional” at one point. But Brady said it was because Terrell demanded he fire all three of her employees. Terrell claimed Brady “repeatedly” called her “emotional” when “she expressed an opinion with which Dr. Brady did not agree.”

The zoo also admitted Brady once described an internal conflict between Terrell and a colleague as “cat fighting.” Terrell said, though, Brady tempered the remarks by adding that “cat fight” wasn’t about gender because cats can be male or female.

However, the zoo attorney dismissed Terrell’s claims that Brady ever said, “there’s always some kind of drama going on that hen house,” in reference to the zoo’s marketing building. The zoo also denied Brady ever said (about women in the marketing department), “you know how women are. I can’t control those hens.”

U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla ordered the case to be heard in a jury trial on January 14, 2019. The trial is expected to last four days in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Western Division.

Memphis Zoo

Memphis Zoo president Chuck Brady

A former employee sued the Memphis Zoo in federal court last month for gender discrimination and retaliation after alleged actions by Chuck Brady, the zoo’s president and CEO.

Kimberly Terrell, a female conservation biologist, sued the zoo on Friday, Dec. 22 for damages in excess of $75,000. In November, she was fired from her job as the zoo’s director of research and conservation. She is seeking back pay, lost benefits, employment reinstatement, punitive damages, and all court fees.

Terrell, who holds a Ph.D in conservation biology from the University of New Orleans, was hired by the Memphis Zoo in August 2015. In the suit, Terrell claimed a “strong record of success” in the job by increasing conservation donations by about 300 percent and reducing fundraising expenses by about 95 percent. She also established 15 new science projects in her two years with the zoo, published papers, and led regular talks with community groups.

“Kim is outstanding and we and the conservation mission are fortunate to have her leadership,” wrote a past board chair, according to the suit.

However, in July, Terrell “became concerned about how (Chuck Brady) treated her in comparison to the men who worked for” the zoo. Brady criticized her budget and questioned her grant funding requests, though both were in line with her male predecessor’s previous requests.

“Dr. Brady repeatedly told her that she was ‘emotional’ when she expressed an opinion with which Dr. Brady did not agree,” reads the suit.

When Terrell expressed concern to Brady about “how a female marketing specialist had forged an email” to her, Brady gestured to the marketing building, “which is occupied almost entirely by women and said, ‘There’s always some kind of drama going on in that hen house.’”

Brady was copied on an email in which Terrell was having a professional disagreement with a third party. He said, “I see you’re in a cat fight,” according to the lawsuit.

Later in July, Brady gave Terrell a performance review, though she’d never had one in her previous two years at the zoo, the suit says. In that meeting, Brady criticized her work, though none of the criticisms were ever written down and some of the actions he criticized he “had, by his own admission, supported and approved at the time.”

In that meeting, Terrell said she thought Brady was treating her differently than her male predecessor and it was on account of her gender.

“Dr. Brady grew visibly angry as a result of her complaint of gender discrimination,” reads the suit. He denied calling Terrell “emotional,” said a cat fight isn’t a “gender thing” because cats can be male or female.

“Dr. Terrell reiterated her objections to these comments, and Dr. Brady stated that the meeting was over,” reads the suit.

After that meeting, Terrell’s suit claims Brady began a “campaign of retaliation” against her. Brady withheld her annual salary increase. When asked why in August, Brady responded to Terrell, saying he was “not impressed” with her work. Terrell told Brady withholding her increase was retaliation, given her accomplishments and “the lack of any documented performance issues.”

“At that point, Dr. Brady became visibly angry, interrupted Dr. Terrell, and told her to ‘be quiet,’” according to the suit.

In the months that followed, Brady allegedly continued to criticize Terrell’s work, was unresponsive to her, undermined her authority of the zoo’s giant panda conservation program, and more, according to the lawsuit. In October, Brady excluded Terrell, the zoo’s director of research and conservation, from the development of a summary about the zoo’s research and conversation programs for its annual impact report.

In November, Terrell was returning form a trip promoting the giant panda program, but was told by the zoo’s human resources office that she was prohibited from returning to her office and was to work remotely. The zoo said Terrell was “not permitted to enter the Memphis Zoo and would not be held responsible for any duties that required her presence at the zoo.”

Later in November, Terrell filed a gender discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The original complaint was filed by Bryce W. Ashby with Donati Law PLLC in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. On December 22, the zoo was given 21 days to respond to the suit.