Project Chimps Leadership
ALI CRUMPACKER
Executive Director
Ali Crumpacker joined Project Chimps as executive director in 2017 and leads both the management and expansion of the sanctuary. After growing up on a small hobby farm in New Jersey, she devoted her life to helping animals, working in veterinary hospitals, zoos, and safaris, before finding a home in the sanctuary world. Before coming to Project Chimps, Ali served as director of The Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, CA, for seven years. Her previous roles include Director of Wildlife Services with Project Wildlife; Animal Curator with the Cayuga Nature Center; and volunteer for rhinoceros conservation research with the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa. Ali holds a master’s degree in zoological administration from George Mason University, a dual bachelor’s from Ramapo College, and a certification in nonprofit management from Chapman University.
Dr. Jenny Jaffe
Veterinary Medical Director
Dr. Jenny was born in Virginia before moving to Holland at the age of six, where she was educated throughout veterinary school. She has a Masters in Wild Animal Health from the Royal Veterinary College in London.
She has worked in the UK and in the rainforests of Ecuador tending to many kinds of wildlife, including orangutans at a sanctuary in Borneo. In addition, Dr. Jenny spent time in Sierra Leone at a large chimpanzee sanctuary. This experience was most comparable to her work at Project Chimps.
She has reintroduced wildlife at the Institute of Zoology in London, conducted field work with wild chimpanzees in the forests of Ivory Coast and did lab work at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, Germany. She also has worked in small animal clinics with cats and dogs in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, but was recruited for Project Chimps based on her experience with wildlife, chimpanzees in particular.
She first got interested in primates during volunteer work in Costa Rica. Over time, she ended up focusing on chimpanzee health and disease. She finds it fascinating to watch chimps interact with their environment and each other and says it’s “been a privilege to observe chimps in the wild.”
Dr. Jenny loves travel and learning new languages -- she speaks seven -- and has had a cultural cooking blog in the past. She's enjoying Southern food and seeing her Georgia-based family members more frequently than when she was overseas. She has dabbled in ceramics by creating birds as public art and has indicated that she may be up for a dare on camera for fundraising purposes.
Her goal at Project Chimps is to “provide the best physical and mental health for the chimps, together with the caregivers, and provide the best care possible as they age." She also hopes to share knowledge of best practices with other sanctuaries.
Find out more about our Medical Team here:
Holly Lickteig
Manager of Husbandry
Holly joined Project Chimps in 2017 with several years’ experience with chimpanzees. After her first internship at the Oakland Zoo working with apes, she knew she wanted to dedicate her life to working with chimpanzees. Holly has a Master's of Science in Primate Behavior, along with a Nonprofit Management Certificate, from Central Washington University, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Holy Names University. While getting her Master's she interned at multiple NAPSA chimpanzee sanctuaries. Originally hired as a Caregiver Aide, she worked her way up to supervisor in 2018 and leads a team of dedicated care staff, in addition to serving as the head of the Intern Committee. Holly supports the mission of Project Chimps by managing a team of Chimpanzee Care Supervisors and Behavior Coordinators in the provision of high-quality care to the chimpanzees in a safe and secure manner. She is primarily responsible for overseeing the effective functioning of the chimpanzee care department, ensuring that the dietary, and husbandry needs for the resident chimpanzees are adequately met.
Find out more about our Husbandry Program!
Jim Lacombe
Manager of Facilities
At Project Chimps, Jim works to build an environment for a thriving society of chimpanzees. As Manager of Facilities, he oversees the physical assets of the sanctuary including the planning, development, and implementation of operational support services. Jim came from New York State where he has lived for 56 years. In New York, he owned an auto repair garage. He needed a change coming to Georgia and found a new sense of community here in the Blue Ridge Mountains and started with Project Chimps in 2022. In 2025, he moved his way up from Facilities Maintenance Specialist to Manager of Facilities.
Find out more about our Facilities Program!
Deanna Stratton
Director of Operations
Deanna is an experienced administrator who works to ensure Project Chimps has capable, diverse, well-trained, forward-looking, and adaptable workforce and volunteer corps. As Project Chimps’ Director of Operations, she oversees human resources, staff recruitment and retention, compliance, accounting, donations administration, merchandise, and volunteer management. Deanna has more than two decades of experience as a human resources manager and is leading our effort to create a culture of excellence for staff and volunteers, as envisioned in our Strategic Plan. Deanna is a world traveler who previously served as human resources manager for the U.S. Consulate in Frankfort, Germany. There, she was responsible for human resources and payroll for 65 employees including recruiting, employee relations, compensation and HR legal compliance under both US and German employment regulations.
Find out more about our Administration Program!
Currently Seeking
Manager of Public Relations and Marketing
Find out more about our Outreach Program!
Currently Seeking
Manager of Philanthropy
Find out more about our Development Program!
Won't You Help?
This project would not be possible without our many generous individual supporters and volunteers. We rely on donations to fulfill our mission, including caring for our existing residents and expanding the sanctuary to accommodate those chimpanzees still waiting in the lab.
Won’t you help us bring the remaining chimps to sanctuary by supporting Project Chimps today? Please donate today because...