She was instrumental in the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and has won international recognition for her conservation work.
Zethoven was educated at the University of Adelaide where she completed a masters of environmental studies titled "Sustainable development: a critique of perspectives".
[1] While working for WWF Australia, Zethoven was awarded the international Fred M. Packard Award in 2004, jointly with Virginia Chadwick, chair and CEO of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, for their work "furthering the conservation objectives of protected areas" to the Australian community.
[2] Zethoven appeared in the 2014 documentary Mission Blue featuring oceanographer Sylvia Earle.
[3] In 2021, she prepared a report for the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) titled "The last decade: the World Heritage Committee and the Great Barrier Reef: A review and recommendations for change.