Learning Group: Lessons from Empathy-Informed Evaluation Projects

Across the ACE for Wildlife Network, individuals and organizations are conducting empathy focused or empathy informed evaluation on a variety of programs and guest experiences. In this event, hear about the experiences and lessons learned from individuals who were a part of evaluation projects that looked at everything from the perceptions associated with an animal’s name, to conservation calls to action, and collaboratively designed signage.

Speaker lineup:

Autumn Russell, Akron Zoo: Autumn will be presenting about a study done at Akron Zoo that was used to begin to answer this question: does the name of a zoo animal affect guest perceptions of the animal? Over 1000 survey responses were gathered between zoo staff, volunteers, and the public. She will focus her presentation on how the survey was designed, how the open ended questions were analyzed, what Akron Zoo learned from the results and how they applied those learnings into an organizational policy, and what questions remain unanswered.

Courtney Cordova, Henry Vilas Zoo: Henry Vilas Zoo is using a new conservation action toolkit to support empathy-based interpretation and conservation messaging. Courtney’s presentation will highlight Henry Vilas Zoo’s volunteer and keeper training, the observational tools they’re piloting, and early results from their summer 2025 rollout. Walk away with practical ideas for evaluating empathy and action in your own programs!