IAAPA's Zoo & Aquarium Comitte-by W.D. Stevenson IAAPA is primarily directed by volunteer oversight groups. There are a board of directors and a smaller executive committee that ensure general oversight and direction. Most important, there is an array of volunteer committees that provide an invaluable source of professional and practical knowledge. One of the newer committees within the association is the zoo and aquarium committee, which focuses on the needs of two growing sectors of our industry. The need for such professionals to aid in IAAPA’s goal to provide information to our members is unquestionable. Special events, workshops, and seminars at last year’s convention and trade show gave way to an abundance of information and insight into these specialized activities. There were about 150 zoo and aquarium professionals present at a variety of educational and networking events during the designated 2003 Zoo and Aquarium Day. Some of the highlights that jump-started the weeklong event included a Keynote session by Bruce Carr, chair of Conservation Education for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA). Additionally, a seminar on emergency and crisis management was led by industry professionals Ron Magill, Miami Metro Zoo; Dr. Barbara Baker, Pittsburgh Zoo; and John Hewitt from the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. Another seminar focused on how zoos and aquariums are evolving into “theme parks with a mission” and examined ways that the industry can define and market products, build presentations, and train staff for a consumer-focused environment. The zoo and aquarium committee also arranged for a behind-the-scenes tour at SeaWorld Orlando, a seminar on how to bring fun and education to zoos and aquariums, a beach party at Discovery Cove, and an auction that raised more than $1,400 dollars for the AZA’s Conservation Endowment Fund. The dedication and volunteer work that the committee members have demonstrated have been invaluable, and Funworld would like to acknowledge the people who comprise this important committee. Antoine Van Daele has been the managing director of the award winning Amersfoort Zoo in the Netherlands since 1998. He serves many different positions within the hospitality industry as both an operator and a consultant. For the past nine years, Van Daele has been the chief operating officer and chief executive officer of Efteling—a world famous award-winning theme and fairy-tale park in the Netherlands. He has industry experience, working in Northern Africa and the Middle East. In addition to his time on the IAAPA Zoo and Aquarium committee, Van Daele also serves on the board of the Association of Dutch Zoos, and he holds several consultant positions in animal welfare organizations in the Netherlands, Congo, Uganda, and Sri-Lanka. Van Daele was born in September 1946 and currently lives in Bruges, Belgium, with his wife and three children. Debra Kerr Fassnacht is executive vice president of the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. She joined Shedd Aquarium in 1993 as public relations manager and led a PR effort associated with collecting three dolphins from the wild amid a flurry of controversy and animal activist scrutiny. Since joining Shedd, her responsibilities have included marketing, admissions, merchandising, and more. She is currently leading the strategic planning, organizational development, community and government affairs, and she is in charge of developing new revenue streams. Under her direction, the Shedd marketing team has won awards for its integrated campaigns for the the exhibits Frogs! and Seahorse Symphony. Fassnacht is past chair of the board of regents of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association(AZA) and continues to serve as administrator and instructor for its professional management development school. She is also a board member of Chicago’s Near South Planning Board and the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum. Frank L. Murru is currently the vice president and general manager of Discovery Cove Orlando in Florida. He began his career in 1974 at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and is a 26-year veteran of the Sea World family of marine-life parks. Murru joined Sea World of Ohio in 1977 and was promoted to curator at Sea World of Florida three years later. Prior to his current position, which he came to in 1998, Murru served as vice president of zoological operations for Sea World of Florida and managed one of the largest and most diverse collections of marine animal attractions and educational programs in the world. Murru has written more than 40 scientific aquarium topic papers and is an active member of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums. He has served as on the boards of the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, and the American Elasmobranch Society, and he is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, the American Fisheries Society, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and the International Association of Aquatic Animal Medicine. Murru received his bachelor of science degree in biology from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Central Florida. He and his wife, Terri, live in Winter Park, Fla., with their four children. Joseph M. Choromanski is the vice president of husbandry for Ripley Entertainment in Orlando. Choromanski is respnosible for animal care for Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg, Tenn. He is very active in the AZA and has served on its prestigious accreditation commission for six years. Prior to joining the Ripley’s Aquarium team in mid-1998, Choromanski was the curator of husbandry operations at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. He also worked as the assistant director of husbandry and senior curator of water quality and animal health at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans, La., and as the curator at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, in Gloucester Point, Va. Choromanski received his bachelor of science degree in marine biology from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 1981 and received his master of science degree from Oregon State University in 1985, focusing on fish physiology. John Frawley is currently the chief executive officer for the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. Frawley has 20 years of extensive animal and business management experience in environmental education and conservation. His background includes animal management positions at Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, and the Minnesota Zoo in the Minneapolis area. He was part of the park management staff at Knotts Camp Snoopy, Mall of America, Minnesota. He is now leading a new aquarium team, which has successfully completed the renovation and turnaround of UnderWater World, San Francisco. The facility is now known as the Aquarium of the Bay, located next to PIER 39. The aquarium was accredited by the AZA in September 2002. Frawley is chairman of the IAAPA Zoo and Aquarium Committee and sits on the membership committee. He has been a member of AZA for 17 years and serves as an adviser to AZA’s Business Operations committee. John R. Holland is currently a general manager of operations for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park in Florida, where he has worked since March of 2002. Holland began with the Walt Disney World Company as a parking host in 1972. His first salaried role with the Disney organizations was in the Magic Kingdom Park as an assistant supervisor for the custodial department. Holland continued his career with Disney as an area manager in several divisions including parking, buses, and attractions. He was promoted to operations manager for both the attractions and custodial divisions of the Magic Kingdom Park from 1989 to 1995 and then became general manager of operations for the park in 1999. Holland has been married to his wife, Lynn, for 29 years, and his interests include reading, skiing, and relaxing at the beach.