teD HOW HAVE YOU SEEN THE SHEDD EVOLVE?


In the 20 years I’ve been here, the biggest change has happened in the last ten years. Te public’s awareness has grown in that we’re fun and educational, and the new culture is encouraging us to be even more out front with our messages. We’re getting our guests and even more local partners engaged with our experiences and how we care for the animals.


For instance, we have a whole new section based on the Great Lakes – we’re in a great position to communicate the challenges, like invasive species and pollution, with the public. All of the smaller, focused organizations that are coming up with solutions to help the Lakes face the challenge of getting that information to the public – and that’s where we’ve been instrumental in helping.


HOW HAS YOUR STAFF CHANGED – IS THERE STILL A TRADITIONAL ZOOKEEPER?


Education is just now assumed, it’s part of our being, our reason for existing, it has to be second nature. We look for people who are really effective one-on-one: great communicators for talking to guests and leading tours, outgoing, very knowledgeable, highly educated, very committed, and with a love and passion for their work.


YOU’RE IN ONE OF THE TOP-TEN VISITED CITIES IN THE COUNTRY. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT DIVERSE AUDIENCE?


During the economic downturn, we had a very local audience. We watched our expenses carefully and re-arranged our programming so that something was always happening at the Shedd. Te Hispanic section of Chicago is a growing area – they do things culturally as families, and we’re seeing more and more large groups of Hispanic families coming in on the weekends – so we’re learning more about that culture and how to engage them.


bEattIe President and CEO, Shedd Aquarium


After the economy started to bounce back, Mayor Rahm Emanuel put a high priority on our tourism market. Now, in the right season, 70% of our daily attendance can be from outside the metropolitan area. So we’re working to integrate all our materials with multiple languages.


WHAT WAS YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE 2016 BID FOR THE SUMMER OLYMPICS?


Te Shedd was very involved, as we would’ve been the site for the rowing events. A steering committee carefully studied Atlanta’s model for handling large crowds, drew up plans on how to leverage our outside space for tens of thousands of guests, and put the bid together. It was really fun to see it all come together.


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