--- title: "Employee Spotlight: Alexandra Keating | SSA Group" description: In our SSA Group Employee Spotlight, Alexandra Keating shares what 452 Hospitality means to her & how she connects teams to conservation & sustainability. --- [SSA Group Blog and News](https://blog.thessagroup.com) # [Employee Spotlight: Alexandra Keating | SSA Group](https://blog.thessagroup.com/employee-spotlight-alexandra-keating-ssa-group) Written by [Admin](https://blog.thessagroup.com/author/admin) | 11/6/26, 6:31 PM Welcome to **The 452 Five**, our **SSA Group Employee Spotlight** series highlighting the people who bring 452 Hospitality to life every day. In this edition, we sat down with Alexandra “Allie” Keating, Manager of Sustainability & Conservation at SSA Group, to learn how she connects SSA teams to the conservation missions of our partners. ## SSA Group Employee Spotlight At SSA Group, 452 Hospitality extends beyond the guest interaction. It shows up in how we care for the places our guests come to experience. For Allie, that means connecting field teams with the conservationists behind our partners’ missions and rolling up her sleeves to find practical ways to reduce waste. We asked her five questions about what 452 Hospitality means to her. ### 1. When you hear “452 Hospitality,” what does that look like in your everyday work, even when you’re not face-to-face with guests? 452 Hospitality is all about welcoming someone into our home and treating them like family. I think about that a lot in my work because the Earth is everyone’s home, and the places we work in each day are incredibly special. Our partners are stewards of these places, protecting wildlife, preserving wild spaces, and educating our guests about the natural world. I love that my role allows me to connect our teams to that mission, whether it’s finding ways to reduce waste, educating on the impact of a menu choice, or connecting a retail team with the conservationists behind the work. For me, taking care of our guests also means taking care of the places they come to experience. ### 2. Can you share a moment when you knew you made someone’s day a little easier? I struggle with self-promotion, so I reached out to colleagues and partners to ask what small actions make their day easier. One response stuck with me: helping provide the context needed to turn a big idea into something tangible and achievable, with lasting impact rather than a one-time effort. To me, that’s what support looks like: helping people move from wanting to make a difference to having the tools and direction to do it. ### 3. What makes your team feel special, and how does that show up for the locations you support? Even though my role is currently a team of one, I get to work alongside so many people across SSA who care about conservation and sustainability. One of the best parts of my job is connecting our teams with the conservationists behind our partners’ missions. Fanny Minesi, Tusk Award winner and director of [Les Amis des Bonobos du Congo, visited the Cincinnati Zoo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrSp6jE6K-M&t=2s) to meet with our retail team and talk about bonobos and our collaborative conservation products. Afterward, Retail Inventory Manager LaKisha Ricks shared that the experience completely reshaped her perspective on bonobo conservation and inspired her to get more involved. > *“Moments like that are what make this work so meaningful to me, bringing the mission to the people doing the work every day.”* ### 4. What has working at SSA taught you about taking care of people? Taking care of people starts with understanding what they need to do their jobs well. Our teams are balancing a lot every day, and sustainability has to work within that reality. Operational excellence and sustainability aren’t competing priorities. When we approach them together, we can make things better for our teams, our partners, and our guests. ### 5. What’s one thing you do behind the scenes that you wish more people in the field knew about? Zero Waste Events! I spend time after many events literally digging through and sorting event waste to divert what we can and see where we can do things differently. It might not be the most glamorous part of my job, but that hands-on work helps us understand what’s actually happening rather than making assumptions. ## 452 Hospitality at SSA Group For Allie, 452 Hospitality means caring for guests like family while taking care of the home we all share. Whether she’s sorting event waste, introducing a retail team to a conservation leader, or turning a good idea into a practical tool, she helps our teams connect everyday work to something bigger. Read more about 452 Hospitality on our Blog. 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