PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Providence paid tribute to the first female superintendent of the city’s parks Monday.

Nancy Derrig served as superintendent of parks for the capital city from 1985 to 2004 and helped transform the Roger Williams Park Zoo into a regional attraction.

Sen. Jack Reed unveiled a plaque memorializing Derrig Monday morning. The plaque lies within the bricks at the giraffe and elephant overlook within the zoo, which she helped build. It has also been renamed the “Derrig Overlook.”

Reed described Derrig as an “extraordinary woman” who had a profound impact on the city.

“Everyone who had the privilege of knowing Nancy could see that she was a force of nature,” Reed said. “She was undeterred … constant in her efforts to make this community better.”

Derrig, who is also credited for revitalizing Roger Williams Park as a whole, passed away last year. She was 78 years old.