Director, Marine Animal Operations and Sustainability, Atlantis Dubai.

Kelly Timmins, Director, Marine Animal Operations and Sustainability, Atlantis Dubai, has more than 13 years of international experience as a Zoological and Sustainability professional. With a BSc in Marine Science and an MSc in Marine Environmental Protection, in her current role, Kelly is responsible for implementing an environmental and social sustainability strategy and management system, to drive measurable change across the destination.

Kelly has worked in the United Kingdom, Singapore and now Dubai, gathering a range of skills across a number of different areas, including animal husbandry, conservation, education, events and sustainability. On joining Atlantis Dubai in July 2019, Kelly’s successfully lead the team to achieve AZA Accreditation for Atlantis Dubai – the international gold standard for animal care and welfare – after which, she worked with all departments to help the resort achieve Bronze Certification from EarthCheck in 2019, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism. This was followed by EarthCheck Silver Certification in 2020, standards which are evaluated and monitored year on year both by the business and EarthCheck.

In just four years, Kelly has developed and enhanced educational programme offerings at Atlantis Dubai for both guests and colleagues. She has established a funding process to give support to local and international partnerships working on marine conservation and sustainability projects. Most recently, as part of Atlantis Dubai’s journey towards becoming a more responsible, sustainable tourism destination, Kelly has been the driving force behind Atlantis Atlas Project, the cornerstone of the destination’s overall commitment to sustainability focused around the key pillars of Responsible Operations, Marine Conservation & Animal Welfare, Education & Awareness and Corporate Social Responsibility.