It's all a natural combination for Joan Embery, the goodwill ambassador for the Zoological Society of San Diego--a job she transformed from a "cheesecake" post for bimbettes to a bully pulpit for animal preservation.

Embery is an animal lover, environmental activist, web guru, television personality and most importantly a proud graduate of Eastern Illinois University! She has been a familiar face on NBC's The Tonight Show, which she brings animals out so they can crawl all over Jay Leno and former host Johnny Carson.

"The most memorable time was when I brought out a marmoset (native to the rainforests of South Africa)," Embery said in the Feb. 2, 1997 edition of The Verge, the weekend entertainment section of The Daily Eastern News. "He climbed onto Johhny's arm, then onto his shoulder, then jumped on top of his head and urinated on him. Johnny just gave this kind of dead pan look to the audience and said, 'I'm glad you didn't bring a baby elephant."

Embery is also one of the few alums with her own official web site. According to early versions of the site, she has always had that special "knack" with animals. Dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs were all childhood pets. Often, Joan and her twin sister Linda would spend summer with her uncle, a veterinarian, and Joan would go help treat sheep, cattle and horses.

"I remember that I used to beg for animals all the time," Embery's web site quotes her as saying. "Anytime my mother would take me into a pet store, I'd want to take a new pet home."

Joan graduated from Crawford High School, went to San Diego State University and did battle with the boys club that flowed through veterinary medicine. To get practical experience in the field, she took the latter of two jobs available at the zoo: a secretary's job or attendant in the Children's Zoo.

She got the ambassador's gig after the first one, model who knew nothing about animals, washed out.

At first, Joan had all kinds of goofy duties. In her first photo opportunity, she was bit in the face by a lion cub. She also taught a baby elephant to swing a paintbrush (which landed her her first appearance on the Tonight Show). Mostly, though, Joan was just supposed to look like a hottie (which, you have to admit, she pretty much does). She wore miniskirts and was asked to wear a Santa suit and pose for photos with sea lions at Christmas time.

"I think there were some people who thought that I was just in a cheesecake type of position," Joan said on her web site. "Lucky for me there were people in the organization that were very supportive."

Joan managed to squeeze Eastern into all of this work. She dumped San Diego State University (where she studied zoology and telecommunications) and finished Eastern's Board of Governors degree program for non-traditional students, getting a bachelor's in telecommunications. She also taught summer school at EIU in 1986 and later got an honorary degree by the university. Unfortunately, there's barely a whiff of Joan and her animals on Eastern's official web site.

Slowly, Joan has made the ambassador's job a serious position and is one of the most recognizable public faces involved with animals. She does tons of talks on disappearing animal species, raises awareness about the disappearing rain forests and promotes global conservation efforts. She works with the research department at the San Diego Zoological Society's Wild Animal Park and its reproductive physiologists, geneticists, zoologists and animal behaviorists in the hope of saving animals and their respective habitats.

Embery has appeared on the Tonight Show more than 100 times, as well as Good Morning America, PM Magazine, The Home Show, Donahue, Hour Magazine and Entertainment Tonight, among others. She's hosted two series, Animal Express and Animals of Africa and authored four books (though they are out of print). She has a computer workbook called "Dogs! With Joan Embery."

As you can see on her web site, Joan hocks a heck of a lot of souvenir/kitsch stuff, but says she believes in everything she sells.

Here's a funny item. Despite all the animal-loving stuff, Joan is afraid of bugs. Go figure.

Embery and her husband, Duane Pillsbury, live in Lakeside, California, on a 50-acre ranch. She raises Quarter horses, Miniature horses, Lippizans, Warmbloods, Clydesdales and Percherons, as well as a California State Grand Champion Brahman Bull named "Bruiser." She also keeps a set of animals around to travel around with her to shows.

Duane and Joan have traveled all over South America, India, Nepal, China, Thailand, New Guinea, Europe and have visited Africa eight times.

Sources for information and some photos:Joan Embery's Official Web Site, Women's International Center, The Daily Eastern News and The San Diego Zoo