2025 Empathy Summit Resources & Recordings

This resource includes recordings from the 2025 Empathy Summit from days 1 and 2.

Susie Wilkening Keynote: While most people think of empathy as a societal good, others consider it a political value that is too “woke” and “liberal”, (those terms being used as pejoratives). Building on extensive audience research on empathy, curiosity, civics, hope, and imagination, we’ll explore why empathy has become polarized, and how zoos and aquaria can use Radical Curiosity and Courageous Empathy to be more effective in tumultuous times.

Network Showcase: Hear about empathy-informed projects implemented by Members and Affiliates across the ACE for Wildlife Network in a series of quick and engaging presentations!

• Brent Weston: Utilizing Ambassador Animal Programs to Build Empathy for Local Wildlife
• Tut Fuentevilla: The Value of Teaching Kids to Feed Bears
• Christine Eckles: Hope for the WILD: Speaker Series
• Lauren Spencer: Supporting Keiki and Community through Connection with ʻĀina After the Maui Wildfires
• Cam Whitley: Considerations in Talking about Animals with Disabilities

Ripples of Empathy – Expanding Impact Through Applying Empathy Best Practices

This panel focuses on the ripple effects that zoo/aquarium educators who are using empathy best practices can have on the rest of the organization – and into the community! As the moderator – and collaborator on each of the highlighted projects – Nette will facilitate a discussion about how concentric rings of empathy can be established and measured, stemming from a core team of trained educators.

2025 Empathy Summit: Storytelling as an Empathy-Building Practice

Since time immemorial, stories have embodied humanity’s power of meaning making. They shape how we understand ourselves and each other. They influence our policies, institutions, and cultural norms. Storytelling is how we make sense of the world. Echoing Toni Morrison’s profound assertion that “narrative is radical, creating us at the very moment it is being created,” this keynote will explore the following questions: How can we tell stories to foster empathy for animals and the environment? How can collective narratives nurture our intrinsic connection to the natural world? What stories can we share to cultivate critical hope as we engage in conservation work? This keynote with Luis Ortega will answer these questions by discussing various storytelling strategies that can foster an empathy-building process.