In-Field Ambassadors
Tundra Buggy visitors learn all about polar bears from PBI's In-Field Ambassadors. Here, JoAnne Simerson demonstrates the power of a polar bear's jaw with the help of a replica skull. Photo © JoAnne Simerson. Click image to enlarge.
PBI's In-Field Ambassadors
By JoAnne Simerson
Editor's note: Part of PBI's strategy for helping polar bears is to inform and inspire leaders who will carry our conservation message to a wider audience. Three years ago, JoAnne Simerson of the San Diego Zoo showed exceptional leadership by organizing and launching PBI's In-Field Lecture Program. Through this program, women in the zoo profession share their knowledge about polar bears and the Arctic with visitors who come to see the bears in Churchill, Manitoba. The outreach has proved so successful that it not only inspires Churchill visitors to do their part to help the bears, but team members themselves have become year-round ambassadors for PBI, spreading the word about polar bears and climate change wherever—and whenever—they can.
The fall of 2008 marked the third year for our In-Field Lecture Program. Over the past three years, eight women from six different zoos across the U.S. have volunteered for the program. Each of them commit to work in Churchill during the fall season for a two-week period, for two years, with support from their zoos. To help them prepare, I created a thick manual that I constantly update to include the most current information on polar bears, climate change, and the Arctic world.
I choose team members based on their energy, intelligence, people skills, and dedication to educating others about polar bears and the Arctic. All are fabulous speakers and have a passion that is infectious. Team members work well with the guides and drivers from Frontiers North Adventures (FNA). During the polar bear season in Churchill, the in-field lecturers give presentations on every FNA Tundra Buggy Tour®. Last year we covered over 57 different tours!
Beyond the Tundra
Our commitment does not end with Churchill, however. Team members return home eager to share their experiences with almost everyone their lives touch, including zoo guests, zoo colleagues, and board members. In 2008 alone over 10 million people visited our six zoos. The opportunity to speak with a keeper with such in-depth knowledge and passion can inspire anyone visiting a zoo—and can certainly help bring the Arctic home.
The ripple effect of our efforts can be seen in the relationships we build with the guests on the buggies. After returning home, we continue to correspond with fellow devotees from all over the world. The people that we meet ask us for photos, information, and presentational materials that they then use in their own homes and communities to inspire others. Our colleagues from FNA often use the information that we prepare to impact travelers that they meet year-round all over Canada.
Conservation Mesage
Our commitment to polar bears and conservation lies not just in words but in action. Our team members take strong leadership roles in polar bear care, management, and exhibit design. We bring green technologies to exhibit designs and to the overall running of our home zoos. We contribute blogs, photos, and videos to websites in order to inform and inspire visitors to reduce their carbon footprints. We write articles for our zoo websites and publications. We collaborate with our education departments on the most important information to share with the public.
We also integrate our passion for conservation into our communities. We pursue green energy for our homes and the homes of friends and family. We give radio, television, and print interviews about polar bears and how to save the Arctic. We give presentations to rotary clubs, retired teachers associations, local grange halls (agricultural organizations), and all those great lodges like Elk and Moose! We also integrate our programs into local school districts, with a reach extending from major metropolitan areas to rural northern Minnesota. We speak to students from preschool age to college level. We are invited to speak at special lecture series and, in 2008, one of our members was honored as a “Voice of Experience” by the Women’s Foundation of Genesee Valley, one of five women chosen as a positive role model for young women.
Members of our team aspire to make a difference. We want to lead and to inspire others to join us by changing their behavior in order to save the Arctic and the polar bear. We see ourselves as ambassadors for the polar bears that we work with, as well as the polar bears that we watch in Churchill. We aspire to empower people with the knowledge and emotion needed in order to make behavioral changes to help the bears.
Over the past three years, we have evolved into so much more than “in-field lecturers.” Between us, we have the ability to touch over 10 million people in one year. We inspire, empower, lead, and, yes, speak for those we represent. For that reason, we have come up with a new name for our program: Polar Bears International’s In-Field Ambassadors.
JoAnne Simerson serves on PBI's Advisory Council.
Present and Former In-Field Ambassadors
Alicia Shelley - Columbus Zoo, OH
Christy Mazrimas-Ott - Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, IL
Kara Masaschi - Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester, NY
Kelly Murphy - San Diego Zoo, CA
JoAnne Simerson - San Diego Zoo, CA
Sara Courteau - Como Zoo, St. Paul, MN
Sarah Bachman - Indianapolis Zoo, IN
Sarah Oistad - Como Zoo, St. Paul, MN
By JoAnne Simerson
Editor's note: Part of PBI's strategy for helping polar bears is to inform and inspire leaders who will carry our conservation message to a wider audience. Three years ago, JoAnne Simerson of the San Diego Zoo showed exceptional leadership by organizing and launching PBI's In-Field Lecture Program. Through this program, women in the zoo profession share their knowledge about polar bears and the Arctic with visitors who come to see the bears in Churchill, Manitoba. The outreach has proved so successful that it not only inspires Churchill visitors to do their part to help the bears, but team members themselves have become year-round ambassadors for PBI, spreading the word about polar bears and climate change wherever—and whenever—they can.
The fall of 2008 marked the third year for our In-Field Lecture Program. Over the past three years, eight women from six different zoos across the U.S. have volunteered for the program. Each of them commit to work in Churchill during the fall season for a two-week period, for two years, with support from their zoos. To help them prepare, I created a thick manual that I constantly update to include the most current information on polar bears, climate change, and the Arctic world.
I choose team members based on their energy, intelligence, people skills, and dedication to educating others about polar bears and the Arctic. All are fabulous speakers and have a passion that is infectious. Team members work well with the guides and drivers from Frontiers North Adventures (FNA). During the polar bear season in Churchill, the in-field lecturers give presentations on every FNA Tundra Buggy Tour®. Last year we covered over 57 different tours!
Beyond the Tundra
Our commitment does not end with Churchill, however. Team members return home eager to share their experiences with almost everyone their lives touch, including zoo guests, zoo colleagues, and board members. In 2008 alone over 10 million people visited our six zoos. The opportunity to speak with a keeper with such in-depth knowledge and passion can inspire anyone visiting a zoo—and can certainly help bring the Arctic home.
The ripple effect of our efforts can be seen in the relationships we build with the guests on the buggies. After returning home, we continue to correspond with fellow devotees from all over the world. The people that we meet ask us for photos, information, and presentational materials that they then use in their own homes and communities to inspire others. Our colleagues from FNA often use the information that we prepare to impact travelers that they meet year-round all over Canada.
Conservation Mesage
Our commitment to polar bears and conservation lies not just in words but in action. Our team members take strong leadership roles in polar bear care, management, and exhibit design. We bring green technologies to exhibit designs and to the overall running of our home zoos. We contribute blogs, photos, and videos to websites in order to inform and inspire visitors to reduce their carbon footprints. We write articles for our zoo websites and publications. We collaborate with our education departments on the most important information to share with the public.
We also integrate our passion for conservation into our communities. We pursue green energy for our homes and the homes of friends and family. We give radio, television, and print interviews about polar bears and how to save the Arctic. We give presentations to rotary clubs, retired teachers associations, local grange halls (agricultural organizations), and all those great lodges like Elk and Moose! We also integrate our programs into local school districts, with a reach extending from major metropolitan areas to rural northern Minnesota. We speak to students from preschool age to college level. We are invited to speak at special lecture series and, in 2008, one of our members was honored as a “Voice of Experience” by the Women’s Foundation of Genesee Valley, one of five women chosen as a positive role model for young women.
Members of our team aspire to make a difference. We want to lead and to inspire others to join us by changing their behavior in order to save the Arctic and the polar bear. We see ourselves as ambassadors for the polar bears that we work with, as well as the polar bears that we watch in Churchill. We aspire to empower people with the knowledge and emotion needed in order to make behavioral changes to help the bears.
Over the past three years, we have evolved into so much more than “in-field lecturers.” Between us, we have the ability to touch over 10 million people in one year. We inspire, empower, lead, and, yes, speak for those we represent. For that reason, we have come up with a new name for our program: Polar Bears International’s In-Field Ambassadors.
JoAnne Simerson serves on PBI's Advisory Council.
Present and Former In-Field Ambassadors
Alicia Shelley - Columbus Zoo, OH
Christy Mazrimas-Ott - Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, IL
Kara Masaschi - Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester, NY
Kelly Murphy - San Diego Zoo, CA
JoAnne Simerson - San Diego Zoo, CA
Sara Courteau - Como Zoo, St. Paul, MN
Sarah Bachman - Indianapolis Zoo, IN
Sarah Oistad - Como Zoo, St. Paul, MN