I was a zoo and aquarium professional for over 16 years. I started as an animal care intern and worked my way up to Chief Animal Care Officer within my organization. I am a veteran, serving 12 years in the Iowa Army National Guard, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. I am an authorized partner with Everything DiSC and the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive team. I help zoo and aquarium professionals thrive in this challenging career field, by helping them develop tools and strategies for handling stress, cumulative stress and compassion fatigue.