I grew up here in Denver, and I am an example of a kid who would have never been able to experience wildlife from around the world without going to Denver Zoo. I was fascinated by animals as a young child, and we’d go to the mountains, but we could have never afforded to travel to exotic destinations and see the types of wildlife I was able to see here at the Zoo.
As I grew older, I realized I wanted to work for my hometown zoo. While in college, at UNC, I did an internship where I actually paid $300/semester to work every Saturday at Denver Zoo for, for free, in order to gain the experience necessary to land a job here! When I graduated, there were no job openings; I took a job at Dallas Zoo, and then went to Oklahoma City Zoo.
Brian at elephant exhibit as a child
Finally, 10 years, one biology degree and two zoos later, my dream came true: I finally came home to Denver Zoo. I took a role leading the animal programs here because I believe in both the foundation and future of the institution that gave me my initial connection to the wild wonders of the world.
MY LOVE CONNECTION: Meeting the Komodo dragons at a special meet and greet! This was before the Komodo wing of Tropical Discovery had been built, and all of our dragons were too big for guest-facing displays. I signed up for a special behind-the-scenes day and was able to get really close to them.