Rachel Bergren, The Marine Mammal Center, United States
Melanie Sorensen, Houston Zoo, United States
Dr. Brian Johnson, Inform Evaluation and Research, United States
North America
Dr. Sarah Thomas, Auckland Zoo, New Zealand
Oceania
Best practices in conservation education program design at zoos and aquariums include articulating outcomes and impacts. These are often expressed in formats such as logic models or theories of change for individual programs and projects. It is equally important to articulate outcomes and impacts across your programs at either the departmental or organizational level. Creating a unified framework of outcomes or messages serves multiple purposes for an organization:
1. A framework aligns all of your department or organization activities.
2. A framework establishes a shared understanding of departmental or organizational goals.
3. A framework guides monitoring and evaluation planning and execution.
4. A framework helps make decisions about whether to launch new programs and when existing programs may no longer be relevant to your organization’s efforts.
Message and outcomes frameworks are also useful in helping organizations adjust to the world’s new normal in light of Covid-19. An established framework can help zoos and aquariums make critical decisions about programming and audiences as they have had to shift learning and engagement opportunities online and adjust in-person offerings to accommodate for social distancing.
The workshop will begin with a few short case studies of outcomes and messaging frameworks from three different organizations. The Houston Zoo will share its conservation education outcomes framework, adopted in 2017 to guide the Zoo’s conservation education department in program planning. The Auckland Zoo will share its journey to create a message action framework, which is driving organizational change on what and how the Zoo communicates about the following priority areas: animal welfare, conservation, sustainability, and connectedness to nature. Finally, The Marine Mammal Center will highlight the outcomes map adopted in 2020 to guide decision-making across the entire organization, from education to operations to animal care. The case studies will be brief, and will set the stage for hands-on activities during the rest of the workshop.
The bulk of the workshop will guide participants through a series of activities to help them understand the different purposes and formats of outcomes and messaging frameworks; understand the difference between key terms associated with outcomes and messaging frameworks, including outputs, outcomes, and impacts; and create an initial plan for developing an outcomes or messaging framework. We will use virtual break-out rooms (if available) to facilitate smaller-group activities and discussion.
Speaker Biography
The workshop will be co-facilitated by Drs. Brian Johnson and Joy Kubarek, Co-founders and Partners of Inform Evaluation and Research, a firm specializing in program evaluation and research in informal learning settings. Previously, Dr. Johnson served as the Director of Educational Research and Evaluation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), where he established a research and evaluation unit at the WCS zoos and aquarium in New York City. Previously, Dr. Kubarek served as the Vice President of the Learning Group at the Shedd Aquarium. Additionally, Dr. Kubarek serves as adjunct faculty at Antioch University and Tufts University, teaching graduate level courses on evaluation in informal learning settings.
Rachel Bergren is Chief Programs Officer for The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC), the world’s largest marine mammal veterinary and teaching hospital, whose mission is to advance ocean conservation through marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research and education. Rachel is responsible for integrated management of the Center’s portfolio of mission-based activities including animal care, scientific research and learning and community programs. Rachel’s career spans 22 years including time at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and Lincoln Park Zoo, prior to TMMC. Rachel is an active member of IZE, previously serving as North American representative and currently holding the office of Secretary/Treasurer.
Melanie Sorensen is the Senior Director of Conservation Education at the Houston Zoo in Houston, Texas where for the last four years she has led a team toward the goal of aligning all aspects of their programs to the Zoo’s mission. She has worked in zoos for 22 years including zookeeper and education roles at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota as well as the Director of Education at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is an avid traveler, once taking a yearlong sabbatical to volunteer for conservation organizations in seven different countries around the world.
Dr. Sarah Thomas started at Auckland Zoo in August 2019 as the Head of Conservation Advocacy and Engagement which has a responsibility for bringing people together to build a future for wildlife through the schools and public programmes, interpretation, volunteers, conservation education outreach and community conservation. I have a mixed academic background with a BSc (hons) in Zoology, a masters (PGCE) in education and teaching and a PhD in conservation – which had a specific focus on exploring the social dimensions of biodiversity conservation. I’ve worked in two other UK zoos prior to moving to New Zealand. I was the Head of Discovery and Learning at the Zoological Society of London ( 2011-2019) , and the Education, Conservation and Research Manager at Blackpool Zoo (2002-2011).