Maria Tabraue is the co-President and Director of the Zoological Wildlife Foundation (ZWF).

As a young child, Maria began watching Mutual of Omaha’s the Wildlife Kingdom with her dad on Sunday afternoons and daydreamed of caring for exotic animals.

Maria Tabraue holds associate legal assistance from Florida International University and a bachelor’s degree in professional management at Nova Southeastern University. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Women and received the distinction of being honored as the 2014 Professional Woman of the Year.

In 2000, she saw her dream come true when she became the surrogate mother to a leopard cub that she named “Gypsy.” As time went on, her bond with Gypsy grew deeper, so she decided to open a zoo. She helped establish the Zoological Wildlife Foundation in 2001, which in turn has cultivated a one-of-a-kind experience for the foundation’s first-time visitors and loyal supporters today.

Presently, Maria continues to be passionate about the conservation and education of wildlife. She makes it her daily duty to help animals that are vulnerable to endangerment. For the past 15 years, she has dedicated herself to the Zoological Wildlife Foundation by caring for over 200 animal residents and managing the day-to-day operations.

Along with her team at Zoological Wildlife Foundation (ZWF), she has focused on making ZWF educational, interactive and fun for families by providing an up-close-and-personal approach with wildlife.

The educative approach of ZWF has made them one of the top attractions in South Florida.

Maria and her team stay involved with the community and often bring their animal ‘ambassadors’ to schools and special events to educate the community about Earth’s amazing animals. Doing this has attracted a lot of people around the community.

She has always been the person working behind the scenes to make many of ZWF’s partnerships possible.

This includes the foundation’s partnerships with the Humane Society, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Live Like Bella, and the Zoological Association of America. Recently, she has also led the foundation’s participation in several conservation programs around the world, including programs in Africa and Asia.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}