Colonel Mustard! In the library! With a candlestick!
by Liesl Pimentel – Phoenix Zoo
Okay, okay, maybe that should read: Safari Steve! On the primate trail! With a palm oil demonstration station!
You might think you know all the usual suspects, when it comes to interpretation in the zoo, wildlife park, and aquarium world, but our ZWPA section of NAI is filled with members who have incredible knowledge, extensive experience, and ridiculously creative minds. In addition, it’s fortunate that our ZWPA members have no intention of committing any crimes … and they definitely don’t want to murder an interpretive program.
Let me give you more than just a Clue about what I’m talking about … In upcoming newsletters and in a monthly email to the ZWPA section members, we will be working to highlight some of the wonderful people that make up our section membership.
One of the best reasons to be part of a section is the specific networking audience the membership affords and the resources, discussion, and idea sharing that can develop amongst that audience. However, it can be difficult to initially make those connections since our exposure to each other is mainly virtual. It’s our hope that the member highlights will help us all feel a bit more connected – we’ll know who is out there, what they’re doing, and what resources they may have to share!
That said, if you receive an email or a phone call from Membership Chair, Liesl Pimentel, soliciting information from you for these member highlights, please take a few minutes to respond. We’ve all had those times when we’ve said to ourselves, “I’d like to get involved, but I’m worried I just don’t quite have the time.” Well, this is a perfect way to get involved, and we promise, it won’t take more than a few minutes of your day to share a little bit about yourself!
Hopefully these member highlights will be an icebreaker of sorts so that we can start connecting with each other more regularly. (And yes, that’s icebreaker, not to be confused with icepick, which would just bring us back to more game references that will continue to make everyone board. Oh geez, had to throw that last bad pun in there!)
And I suppose it’s only fair that I start off the member highlights if I’m going to be the one pestering you to share some information about yourselves – I will most certainly share mine. Be sure to connect with all of our featured members through through their bios and contact info under the Members page in the right nagivation bar. Will chat soon!
