Interview 30880 – Caption Index: 284
And once you do, what, what can a small or medium sized municipal zoo or private zoo do today to be involved in wildlife conservation, either nationally or internationally?… Read More
And once you do, what, what can a small or medium sized municipal zoo or private zoo do today to be involved in wildlife conservation, either nationally or internationally?… Read More
I’m going public environmental affairs with the major and policy administration with a minor in accounting. Okay. I’m not a zoologist, I’m not a biologist. I am not a scientist at all. But I think that that academic background helped me out greatly. There are small zoos, medium zoos, and… Read More
How would you categorize Lincoln Children’s Zoo?… Read More
And people go, well, what’s your degrees in John?… Read More
You need to be a collaborator, a partner. You need to be a great listener. You need to really work aggressively with your community to, to, to build it, to, to, to make that mission a success and to, and to make that institution a success. So, you know, my… Read More
It, it really, really is. Read More
When I started, you needed to be an animal guy. You know, you needed to be an animal professional because the complexities of animal collections, and they, they haven’t lost their complexity, but how zoos, especially the zoo, Lincoln Children’s Zoo is a completely private zoo receiving no tax dollars,… Read More
What kind of skillset do you think a zoo director needs today as compared to when you started?… Read More
Do you feel that you were able to convey to everyone what the mission was? Did they all know it?… Read More
They, I I think they, they all knew it. You know, that’s kind of hard when the person’s selling snow cones. Okay. But because we talk so much about the mission, the mission was stated, you know, in our break rooms and, you know, behind the scenes area for all… Read More
I mean, they knew that we were there to serve, to connect, to make great things happen in Lincoln, Nebraska. Read More
Well, I think what made me a good director was years of experience. I mean, coming up through the ranks, I mean, from the volunteers, the teenager, and doing a little bit of everything at, at the zoo, from concessions to zoo, keeping to education, to man, you know, management. Read More
What do you think made you a good director?… Read More
I think it’s really important that they know that they’re appreciated. And they’re, and volunteers too. You know, we had, we had hundreds of volunteers at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo. But, but people like to be acknowledged that they’re doing a good job and they’re part of a team and… Read More
It doesn’t matter what your expertise is. If you’re a good listener, a good collaborator and can prioritize that makes a good zoo director. You’re director emeritus of the Lincoln Nebraska Children’s Zoo. Read More
And I think that’s where I’m really lucky. ’cause I had both, I was, you know, I was an animal guy. ’cause I started in the ditches, you know, in the trenches taking care of animals. And I, and I worked my way up, you know, in, in retail and… Read More
You know, and I think everybody brings in a little bit different talent and different priority. Read More
And so it’s hard to say, do you need the business person or do you need the animal person?… Read More
And so are you there for five years, 10 years?… Read More
What are the institution’s needs?… Read More