intersection 5: leadership

Leadership

The magazine of the National Association for

Interpretation’s Sections

Volume 1, Number 5October 2012

InterSection

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NAI SectionsP.O. Box 2246Fort Collins, CO 80522888-900-8283 toll-free970-484-8283970-484-8179 faxwww.interpnet.com

Visit www.naisections.org for more information.

bOArd Of dIrecTOrS

executive committeeAmy Lethbridge, PresidentCem Basman, VP for AdministrationJohn C.F. Luzader, VP for ProgramsAmy Burnett, Secretary Theresa Coble, Treasurer

At-Large representativesK.C. DenDooven David KnottsMike Whatley

region Leadership council representativesTom Mullin (Chair)Kevin DamstraChuck LennoxJohn Miller

Section Leadership council representativesTravis Williams (Chair) Jane BeattieTodd BridgewaterDuane Fast

STAffPaul Caputo, Interim Executive DirectorJamie King, Membership ManagerDeborah Tewell, Events Manager Beth Bartholomew, Business ManagerEmily Jacobs, Certification & Training Program

ManagerCarrie Miller, Certification Program SpecialistSheila Caputo, Administrative Assistant

NAI’s mission is to inspire leadership and excellence to advance heritage interpretation as a profession.

Interpretation is a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and the meanings inherent in the resource.

cILHCultural Interpretation/Living History

cINPCouncil for the Interpretation of Native Peoples

cUACollege and University Academic

ee Environmental Education

IMInterpretive Media

INInterpretive Naturalist

INTL (featured on pages 6)International Interpretation

ITInterpretation and Tourism

NcdA (featured on pages 4 and 11)Nature Center Directors/Administrators

ZWPA (featured on page 16 and 19)Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Aquaria

National Association for Interpretation 3

Contents

ON THE COVER: Teamwork is an important part of developing partnerships. See the story on page 6.

Volume 1, Number 5October 2012

InterSection

4 NCDA

A field Guide to LeadershipBrian Thill

6 INTL

developing Successful PartnershipsJohn A. Veverka

11 NCDA

Put Yourself in Your Visitor’s ShoesSharol Nelson-Embry

16 ZWPA

If it’s not broke –Prove It!Todd Bridgewater, CIT

19 ZWPA

ZWPA News & NotesMichelle Mills

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A field Guide to Leadership

Looking at the book- shelf in my office I’ve come to the realization that somewhere along the line a shift took place. Rather than a shelf that looks like the nature section of Barnes and Noble loaded with field guides, Leopold, and Muir, I’ve noticed an invasion of business and leadership books take over like zebra mussels on the bottom of a boat. If I look closely I can still see my Interpreters Handbook Series, CIG Workbook, Tilden, and past issues of Legacy but they are quickly being shaded out by literature that deals with leading teams and organizations over leading hikes.

As naturalists, many of us start out on the “front lines” where field guides are part of our interpretive knapsack and office décor. Field guides are a great tool to learn from, to help us identify something on the trail, and guide us when we’re not quite sure what we just saw or heard. With many of us moving from the trail into an office what tools can we use like a field guide that help guide us as we go from an outdoor environment into an indoor environment? What if there was a field guide to Leadership, what would we find in this guide? In a field guide we use some major characteristics to identify

brian Thill

Nature Center Directors & Administrators

an animal such as; a species description, range, behavior, sound or call, and conservation status. Let’s take a stab at relating these to leadership!

Species descriptionsA field guide lists many different species. Likewise, there are a number of different leadership styles. If we open our Leadership Field Guide we’ll see pictures of parents, teachers, coaches, and supervisors. Under the description of each we’ll see they all have a different way of setting a vision, defining goals, and pushing you to accomplish those goals. Does their leadership style change depending on the environment? When we use a field guide, we often look for key characteristics of a species and those that we find most useful. Do we tend to favor certain traits of leaders or follow a certain leader more so than others?

range and StatusThink of your organization. Where can you find leaders? Are they found year round? Are they nomadic in winter? Do they migrate? Are leaders rare, common, or endangered? We’ll follow that up with a thought on Leadership Conservation shortly.


behaviorsLet’s think about bird behavior here as it relates to leadership. Do you observe or portray the leadership of a duck, smooth on the surface but feet paddling fast underwater, a northern shrike looking for opportunities to impale something or someone, a mockingbird often communicating loudly high up on a perch where everyone sees you, the owl gathering all the information and “triangulating” all of the information to make a precise decision, or a woodpecker beating its head against a tree constantly? There are a number of fun bird analogies to think about when you think about leadership styles.

Voice In birding, a song can help us identify a particular bird. Some of the songs are elaborate and beautiful while others not so much. Likewise voice, tone, what someone says, doesn’t say, and how they say something can be direct leadership characteristics. Listen and observe how leaders in any profession handle success and adversity. Are they sharing the success with their team, do you hear “We”, “They”, or “I”? Likewise what does it sound like when a leader faces adversity? Do you hear the leader take accountability or is there blame and excuses? Do their words lift others up or bring them down? What type of leader would you like to work for or emulate?

Interpreters discussing and participating in a weekly book discussion.

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conservationHow do we conserve this leadership resource? Like becoming a good birder, leadership takes time to develop. You’ll likely experience long hours of observation, sometimes being in the “field” in the early morning and staying late at night, always learning and observing. Part of the leadership experience is learning from adversity and bad decisions, but continuing to learn and to be excited about what you might see out there each time you go out!

There are a number of actions you can take to ensure that leadership won’t go extinct at your center.

Succession planning and mentoring. Who will replace you? What qualities do you want for your organization? Identify the young leaders with potential and begin to mentor them. Bring them to a board meeting, spend more time with them, create yearly leadership goals, be transparent in regards to the business of the organization. Seek out others in the profession, as well as outside of the profession, to learn from and add perspective to your growth as a leader.

book clubs and blogs. Leadership books and blogs are a great tool to discuss how leadership concepts might relate to your team or organization. There are a number of great leadership blogs out there and services that send daily leadership tidbits. A mentor of mine started a weekly habit of gathering our leadership team and walking us through a leadership or service related book a few chapters each week. We’d discuss each chapter and relate back to ourselves individually and as an organization. It served as a great “time out” for us as a team and grew us individually and organizationally.

Training and conferences. Get away from the daily operation of your center and chat with others who are experiencing or have experienced many of the same challenges, opportunities, and threats that you may be going through. Attend a state, region, or national meeting where you’ll find these resources! Find a few colleagues both within and outside your organization to discuss and share resources, challenges, and successes.

Stay sharp by signing up for a weekly leadership or management blog or email.


Here are just a few resources to start your “Leadership Knapsack.” Like field guides, you can never have too many! Good luck and go get it!

The Leadership Challenge- James Kouzes and Barry Posner

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership- John Maxwell

Good to Great – Jim Collins

Creating Magic 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney- Lee Cockerell

The Energy Bus- Jon Gordon

The FIVE Dysfunctions of a TEAM- Patrick Lencioni

Strengths Finder 2.0 – Tom Rath

Gung Ho, Whale Done- Ken Blanchard

Primal Leadership- Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, Annie McKee

Fully Charged- Bernd Vogel, Heike Bruch

Nature Center Directors Association (NCDA) Section of NAI www.naisections.org/NCDA/

Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) www.natctr.org

NAI National Workshop- www.interpnet.com/workshop

Harvard Business Review (magazine and online management tips of the day). www.hbr.com

Disney Institute– www.disneyinstitute.com

Inside the Magic- Leadership Principles from a Life at Disney Training– www.creativeleadershipgroup.com

Brian Thill is the Assistant Director of Education at the South Carolina Aquarium. Reach him by email at [email protected] or visit the aquarium at www.scaquarium.org.

field guides.

My transforming book-shelf.

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developing Successful Partnerships

Why do I Need Partners?Developing partnerships for organizations/agencies in both the private and public sectors have been a management trend for the past several years. Particularly in times of tight budgets but growing demands for services, agencies have looked more and more to cost sharing and work sharing with groups and organizations. What can partnerships to for you?

Provide cost sharing for construction projects, exhibit projects, marketing services, staff training and development, and more.

• Provide “credibility” for some projects by having the right “names” associated with them.

• Provide expertise that may not be available “in house”.

• Cut costs in marketing and advertising sites or attractions.

• Help in grant writing or other revenue generation.

• Help you accomplish your agency or attraction mission more cost effectively.

John A. Veverka These are just a few of the benefits of partnerships. But creating a “successful” partnership is not as easy as it might seem and there are pit falls if the partnership doesn’t work out. Here are some things to consider in developing and maintaining successful partnerships.

Ten Guiding rules for Making Partnerships Work:

1. All partners must be equal. While the word “partnership” implies this, I have seen partnerships where one partner is “more equal” than the other in decision making, management, or other issues. This can easily cause friction and the partnership to break up.

2. Benefits to each partner should be equal. All partnerships are based on the fact that each partner is looking to gain some BENEFITS from the partnership. They may be benefits in marketing or advertising their site or resources, benefits in keeping their operation costs down, or other related benefits. If one partner seems to benefit more than the other, but the real “costs” o the partnership are equal, some friction can develop.

International

Planning Guidelines for Heritage Tourism and Interpretive Sites, facilities, and Organizations


3. Partners should have some common or shared mission or organizational purpose. If all partners are after the same end (protecting historical sites, preserving the environment, wanting visitors to value the shared resource, promoting regional tourism, etc.), there is a greater chance of the partnership being successful.

4. All partnerships should have a written “Letter of Agreement” between the partners to spell out exactly the roles, duties, financial commitments, time frame commitments, management responsibilities, etc. for the partnership. This speaks for itself. All partnership agreements should be worked out clearly and in writing.

5. Choose your partners carefully – You Are Known by the Company you Keep. Will this partnership help or possibly hurt your agency or organization image. For example, if you are an environmental organization and have a partnership with an Oil Company – what will people think?

6. Talk to each other often. Some types of partnerships succeed or fail because of lack of communications between the partners. Depending on the kind of partnership you have, meet often to discuss common goals, strategies, or problems.

7. If you have a “long term” partnership agreement (covering several years), have a yearly “updating” meeting to make any needed partnership adjustments. The key here is that tourists, agency administrators, budgets, everything – can change over time. Have flexibility built into your partnerships to make adjustments as needed.

8. Have a common or shared “look”. While you want to maintain your agency or organization identity, visitors are not really interested in who all the partners are. They do not want a quilt work of exhibit design looks, publication mis-matches, or other visually confusing presentations. Agree on a common or shared look

Teamwork is very important in planning projects.

for a “seamless” presentation of a common or shared story.

9. Have clear deadlines or work plan timelines. If your partnership involves developing sites, attractions, exhibits, marketing materials, or other such joint projects, make sure that all partners can keep to shared work responsibility deadlines and project time tables. For example, if you are developing outdoor exhibit panels, and your designer needs graphic material from your “partner” by a certain deadline, make sure that the partner can meet these kinds of deadlines.

10. Try to LIKE your partner. If you don’t really get along with a

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potential partner, you will probably have problems along the way with the potential partnership. Some partnerships fail simply because the partners may have personalities that don’t work well together. Successful partnerships take work!

There are different kinds of partnerships between different kinds of organizations and agencies and how partnerships might work between them vary greatly. From government agencies to commercial tourism attractions, to commercial service providers, to non-profit organizations – partnership benefits and arrangements will vary a lot.

Planning for PartnershipsIf you think that your organization or agency is ready for, or in need of, various kinds of partners, here are some steps for planning for your partnership. I recommend that you think through these questions before selecting or approaching potential partners.

Why do we need a partner?How will a partner benefits us?How will a partnership benefit the partner(s)?

• Financial Benefits

• Marketing Benefits

• Association benefits with our agency or organization.

• Gain access to a greater number of resources and expertise.

• Help them to accomplish their goals, objectives, or mission.

• Other benefits.

What are the goals and objectives of our proposed partnership (what do we envision accomplishing via the partnership)?

• How will you know if the partnership is “successful”?

• How will you know if/when the partnership is not longer needed?

How will we administer the partnership?

• Who will write the contract or letter of agreement?

• Who will be responsible for any fiscal accounting?

• Who will be responsible for staff functions?

Do we need a long-term partner(s) or will this be a short-term partnership project? Exactly what do we want our proposed partner(s) to do?

• Help with funding?

• Help with staffing?

• Help with administration of the project.

• Provide expertise?

• Provide credibility to the project?

• Provide “in-kind” services (printing, publications, etc.)?

Who are some potential partners? Make a list of the organizations, companies, attractions, etc. who you think would make a good partner(s) based on the above criteria. How will we implement the partnership? What will it take to get things going? How will we evaluate the success of the partnership (for short or long term projects or working relationships?

Once you have thought through these questions (and answered them), then you are ready to approach your potential partners about entering into a partnership arrangement with you.

SummaryThis short paper was designed to help you think through some of the issues and points that can make or break partnerships. In today’s economy, partnerships, especially in the heritage tourism area, make good business sense. But like good business, it should be carefully planned and thought through to help insure success.

To get John Veverka’s free newsletter, email [email protected]. Find John online at www.heritageinterp.com.


Put Yourself in Your Visitor’s Shoes

NAI’s Best Practices includes that the Visitor Experience should:

Be planned holistically to include the decision to visit (promotional materials), the entry (including the journey to the site), the connections that are made through onsite interpretive media and programs, the exit (including the journey home or to another destination), and the commitment on the part of the visitor to change their attitude or behaviors or to support or recommend the site or organization to others.

A few years ago I attended the National Interpreters Workshop, 2008 pre-workshop, “EXPERIENCEology” offered by Stephanie Weaver. The workshop offered the intriguing opportunity to work in small groups to assess our visit to the Portland Zoo. We looked at eight components of our experience and outlined what was working, what could be improved, and what more could be added. A colleague and I brought EXPERIENCEology back to our agency, the East Bay Regional Park District.

Stephanie Weaver developed an assessment that each of our six visitor

Sharol Nelson-embry centers used to examine our sites and compose short and long term action plans. At Crab Cove Visitor Center in Alameda, CA, we have taken small steps and over time, made great strides to meet those goals. Come with me as we walk through our visitor experience.

1. InvitationOur website (http://www.ebparks.org/parks/vc/crab_cove) and visitor center brochure (http://www.ebparks.org/Assets/files/Crab_Cove_Visitor_Center_Brochure.pdf) have been redesigned to better carry our agency’s “brand.” Our colorful brochure with photos of current staff and active language highlights our unique location on San Francisco Bay with access to a nature study area in the intertidal zone. Our park signage is clear and welcoming. We still need to install directional signage from the freeway and within our city to help visitors find our out-of-the-way facility entrance.

2. Welcome/first ImpressionCrab Cove Visitor Center is a single story, repurposed, historic building from World War II. It tends to disappear into our park’s landscape and had no distinctive, identifying features from

Nature Center Directors & Administrators

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a distance. We have tried to improve it by installing, with the help of many volunteers over the course of 3+ years, an attractive native plant garden in the surrounding flowerbeds. A large, colorful flag on our main entrance and fluttering flags with our crab mascot on the street-side entrance attract attention to our building. Our seasonal staff is trained to create a fun, welcoming, yet informed and professional atmosphere. We will be pursuing Bay- and Wildlife-friendly certifications for our gardens in the coming year.

3. Orientation/WayfindingPlaying to the visitor’s “right hand bias,” our large Park District map is the first right-hand wall display inside the Center’s

main entrance, opposite the resale/information area. Visitors can also pick up free brochures and handouts by the map. Our daily activities are listed in the entry area. We installed a welcome/orientation sign just outside our facility for visitors who come when the Center is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, or after hours and also have bulletin boards with flyers displaying upcoming activities.

4. comfortOur restrooms were remodeled a couple of years ago which improved the appearance and also provides better water and energy conservation. We offer healthy snacks for sale in our small gift store, which are appreciated by parents with tired, hungry kids. There

We have multiple entrances to our linear park along San francisco bay so signage helps direct visitors to the right area.


are stools and benches for seating at several spots in our Center and benches outside for folks to rest and take in the sights. Our murals, interactive displays and Discovery areas, as well as large aquariums, appeal to young children and their families. We get many families who drop by weekly.

5. communicationOur interpretive displays take visitors through the habitats of San Francisco Bay including displays of local fish in simulated habitats. Interactive elements on the lower portion of the central kiosks engage younger kids while parents and older visitors get a chance to read the information above. Younger kids can crawl through a mudflat “tunnel,” build a magnetic crab puzzle, or place animals in their respective habitats. Discovery areas extend the display themes with table activities. Our crab mascot appears on some of our displays with friendly requests such as “Please don’t touch the glass” on the aquariums.

6. Sensation:Our Center has opportunities for visitors to engage their senses. Visitors are mesmerized with aquariums providing views of seldom-seen Bay fish. Kids can touch replica whale bones and real shark cartilage and skin in our displays. Our low-tech CD player features ocean sounds of crashing waves and calling gulls interspersed with ocean-themed music. The open doors bring in the ambient smell of the Bay shoreline. During the cold winter months, we feature hot cider and popcorn during free afternoon nature videos in our Old Wharf Classroom. 7. common SenseThis element is the business side of our operation. We are mandated to provide a balance of free and revenue-producing programs. One of our popular fee-based programs are nature parties on weekends for kids and their families. The parties attract families with an alternative to commercial kids’ parties. They allow families to deepen their relationship with us and allow us

before: Our visitor center is hard to distinguish from a distance.

during: bare, weed-infested flowerbeds were planted with drought-tolerant native plants by staff and volunteers.

After: The addition of a large, colorful flag helps visitors know when we’re open.

After: An attractive flowerbed, new deck railing and steps, along with colorful flags make a more welcoming entrance from the street.

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to connect with new visitors they invite. Another popular program is a series for preschoolers and their parents. We alternate weekly between a free, drop-in program, “Hikes for Tykes,” in the parks and “Sea Squirts” at Crab Cove. “Sea Squirts” has a nominal fee and requires advanced reservations. The fee covers some staff time and materials costs for a craft based on the theme for the day.

8. finale/exit experienceParticipants in all of our programs are offered copies of our Activity Guide and invited to return to Crab Cove or another of our 65 Regional Parks. Crab Cove’s gift store features primarily ocean and bay-related items to align with the themes of our displays. These

are important as many children want to purchase a token of their visit. Some of the items also support our broader initiative of getting kids to explore outdoors, on their own, with tools and ID books to help them. We also developed a brochure for school children to take home that invites them to bring their families back. There’s an incentive discount coupon for them to use on a future visit in our gift store.

Examining our visitor center facility and programs from a visitor’s perspective has helped us create a more appealing and memorable experience. It has also helped strengthen and better align our facility and programs with our mission. Though the work is on-going, our team can celebrate how far we’ve

costumes help static exhibits become more interactive (note: staff usually dresses up children in costumes).


come and refocus on our next steps to bring visitors excellent experiences at our site and programs. I hope you’ll take a walk through your own facility to get a sense of what your visitor experiences. You may be pleasantly surprised and also find some things you’d like to change.

Sources

Creating Great Visitor Experiences: A Guide for Museums, Parks, Zoos, Gardens & Libraries. Stephanie Weaver. http://experienceology.com/

Interpretive Planning Standards and Practices. 2009. www.interpnet.com/standards

Sharol Nelson-Embry is the Supervising Naturalist for the Crab Cove Visitor Center, East Bay Regional Park District and a member of the Nature Center Director and Administrators Section with the National Association for Interpretation. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Information panels just outside the front entrance help orient visitors and inform them about programs planned for the month.

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If it’s not broke –Prove It!

Even though you are profitable and solvent, you may still be losing money. Years ago the Oklahoma City Zoo Education Department (online at www.okczooed.com) switched to on-line registration to better manage our revenue, track customer accounts and save staff time. The company we chose provided these services, however those same services grew to become a significant cost.

In the beginning, complicated contract terms made it difficult to predict actual costs and potential savings of on-line registration. If you have not dealt with this process, it is analogous to refinancing a house - none of the quotes received are specific to your circumstances! Only when credit is pulled and you pay for a home estimate can you begin to explore potential savings. For some online registration companies, you must run a year’s revenue through its process to know the true cost.

The difficulty in estimating the true cost stems from a number of other variables. Program revenue is comprised of varying amounts of cash, checks and credit cards. To add to this complexity, some charges vary. Those entered by

Todd bridgewater, cIT

staff on the software’s admin side are subject to different financial terms than to those submitted by on-line registrants. (The latter costs more.) Consider the terms of two example companies (see table on page 18). Which would you prefer?

The increasing impact of these fees on your bottom line may not be obvious: 1) Fees can be deducted before registration income is deposited into your account. 2) Fees may not be transparent. Our previous company (Example Company #1) used “absorbed processing fees” as the catch phrase for transaction fees entered by participants. This phrase did not appear on customer receipts, but under the customer’s transaction history within the software. 3) Since these same fees varied with regard to program cost, more expensive programs meant more expensive fees. 4) Also, more credit card transactions meant more fees. Over time income composition can change. Our credit cards became the preferred payment form at 58.2%, with cash and checks comprising the rest. Because of these factors, the overall cost of on-line registration increased to 13.5%, approximately $22k, of our fiscal revenue!

Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Aquaria


Left: Screen capture of the old registration system.

below: Screen capture of the new registration system.

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ExampleCompany#1 Terms

AnnualFee $1,500

TransactionFeeifenteredbyAgency 3%oftheregistrationfee.

TransactionFeeifenteredbyRegistrant 6.5%oftheregistrationfeeplus$0.50,witha

minimumfeeof$2.00.Iftheregistrationfeeis

between$150‐$500,theservicechargewillbe

3.5%plus$5.00,andforfeesabove$500,thefee

willbe2.5%plus$10.00.

ExampleCompany#2 Terms

MonthlyFee $29

PerPaidRegistrantFee $0.79

CommunicationCenterEmails 2,000freepermonth.Additionalmessages$0.02

each

So, what do you do? If you seek a vendor or have current contract for online registration, consider these initial questions:

• Do you know the true cost of your software?

• Have your registration needs changed over time?

• Has the preferred payment form changed in a way that affects your revenue?

• Will/Do you utilize all the software features or just a few?

• Is the cost justified for the service?

If it’s been years since you first signed a contract, it may be time to re-evaluate. In 2004, we selected an all-in-one registration package with every feature imaginable. The company delivered on their promise; however its cost increased and our needs changed.

After reevaluating our needs, we chose a new company whose fee structure is transparent (Example Company #2). Its product fits the design and style of our website, www.okczooed.com. Not only is it intuitive for staff and guest use, we

simplified registration by asking relevant questions using custom fields. We also continue to incur the processing fees on behalf of our guests. By switching companies, we reduced our on-line registration costs from 13.5 % to 0.75% of our fiscal revenue. That is an approximate savings of $20k!

Instead of seeking new revenue, try to reclaim what is already there. It may be as simple as reevaluating your needs and selecting the right tool. Just because what you have works doesn’t mean it’s not broken. Gain confidence and revenue by adopting John Luzader’s (NAI’s VP of Programs) approach, “If it’s not broke – PROVE IT!”

Todd Bridgewater, CIT, is NAI’s ZWPA Section Director. Please post questions and comments on naisections.org/ZWPA/2012/09/29/if-its-not-broke-prove-it.

Table: Terms of two example companies


Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Aquaria

ZWPA News & Notes

A Note of Thanks I just wanted to take a moment to publically thank the ZWPA Leadership Team, ZWPA Section Officers and Awards Committee for selecting me for the 2012 Outstanding Interpreter Award. Along with ZWPA, I also wish to thank the staff at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo for the nomination of the award. It is a wonderful honor and I am humbled that everyone involved thought so highly of me.

ZWPA is a great team of professionals that promote and inspire excellence in leadership, professional development and interpretation at zoos, wildlife parks and aquariums. I would encourage anyone with a professional interest in zoos, wildlife parks and aquariums to get involved in ZWPA. It is a nice way to network, share knowledge and create a stronger interpretive program at your organization.

Thank you!

—Terry Joyce, CIT, CIG, CIHT ZWPA Secretary-Treasurer Education Specialist Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

ZWPA Outstanding Interpreter Award announcement:The Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Aquaria section of NAI is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2012 ZWPA Outstanding Interpreter Award. This year’s award was presented to Terry Joyce of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

In all of the recommendations that we received for Terry, one thing carried through above all else: her passion for the field of interpretation. She was praised for her skills as a front-line interpreter, able to captivate an audience and interpret anything her Zoo can offer. Terry is heavily involved in training not only interpretive staff, but docents, volunteers, and guest service staff as well. Her concept of “conversational interpretation” helped to improve interpretation institution-wide, and the brief but powerful conservation messages she developed for the new African Elephant Crossing exhibit made it easy for everyone on staff to impact their visitors.

Terry is active not just in ZWPA, but also with a statewide Zoo Educators group. She has presented at AZA and is involved with the National Park Service/NASA Earth to Sky climate change initiative. She adds this award to others she has received, including an Exceptional Employee award from her organization.

The clearest reason for this award was summed up perfectly by Lynn Charles, volunteer services manager, who said “We watch Terry, we listen to Terry, and we follow her lead - if we do that, we usually get it right.”

For her contributions to ZWPA, efforts at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and her commitment to the field of interpretation, Terry Joyce has been recognized with the 2012 ZWPA Outstanding Interpreter Award.

NAI’s mission is to inspire leadership and excellence to advance heritage interpretation as a profession.

Join at www.interpnet.com or call 970-484-8283.

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Join a community of professional interpreters.

Network in person at an NAI National Workshop,

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LegacyThe magazine of the National Association for Interpretation

Interpreting Food

PICTURED: Kye-joon Cho, Olga Diez Ascaso. ABOVE: (Networking) Susan Immer, Jerome Bridges; (Professional Development) Participants in an NAI certification course.

intersection 5: leadership

Documents

field guides

leadership books

heritage interpretation

office ive

office dcor

aquarianational association

invasion of business

leading teams