Let me tell you what I did today. I spotted three collaboration opportunities that had been sitting in plain sight — unnoticed — by a room full of smart, capable people. I traced how a single community relationship could simultaneously generate revenue, deepen attendance, unlock grant funding, and turn everyday visitors into vocal advocates. I identified a whole underserved audience hiding in your own visitor data, waiting for someone to ask the right question. I did all of t

Hello, my name is Dana. All my life, I’ve had a fondness for animals, particularly aquatic animals and marine life. Like many others, I originally thought I was going to become a veterinarian when I was younger. When I realized that was NOT going to work for me, I turned towards informal education. I went to Michigan State University and successfully earned a degree in marine biology (along with a couple minors in marine ecosystem management and museum studies). After I gradu

I am about to turn 40 and my whole world just shifted into focus. I am a devoted friend, daughter, sister, wife, mother and zookeeper and I was giving 150% to everyone all the time until I crashed hard last year. Let me back up a few more years though. About four years ago, my son was diagnosed with ADHD and he and I began to learn what that meant. The more I learned about my son's unique brain, the more I started to recognize that he most likely inherited this special brain

Being neurodivergent means my brain is never quiet—but it is deeply curious, deeply passionate, and deeply invested in the things I love. One of those things is ZooTampa. Zoos have always been a special interest of mine, and ZooTampa in particular holds a huge piece of my heart. I’m incredibly lucky that my role allows me to share that passion every single week. Every new hire at the Zoo spends about twelve hours over two days listening to me talk about our mission, our peopl