Webinar: Caring for Team Members Through Crisis

David Gray is the Human Resources Manager for Lagoon Amusement Park located in Farmington, Utah. David has been with Lagoon for 23 years, beginning his career scooping ice cream at the Park at the age of 15. 

As Lagoon’s Human Resources Manager for the past 13 years, David oversees the park’s various HR functions for a seasonal staff of over 3,000 team members and a full-time year-round staff of 175. During his tenure in the HR role at Lagoon, David has been instrumental in creating several successful new recruitment strategies, employee engagement initiatives, and leadership development programs. One of David’s strongest passions is making sure each team member has an amazing and rewarding experience; an experience that they will carry with them throughout their life and future careers. 

David has an MBA degree from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in Health Care Administration from Weber State University. David is currently serving on the IAAPA Human Resources Subcommittee. He also serves on various committees for the local Davis Chamber of Commerce, including the Leadership Institute program. 

Matt Heller has spent 31 years in the attractions industry, spending time in both operations and human resources. In 2011, Matt created his own leadership development consulting company, Performance Optimist Consulting, where he now gets to help leaders from all over the industry make sure they are getting the most out of themselves and their teams.

Shaun is Founder and President of www.AttractionsAcademy.com, providing global attractions virtual and onsite training, organizational development, service excellence, leadership, performance improvement and operations consultancy for the attractions industry. Shaun is co-author of the industry leadership book ‘Reasons 2 Reward’ and author of numerous attractions industry features. Shaun is currently Chair for the IAAPA Asia Pacific Education Sub Committee and member of the IAAPA Global Education Committee. Shaun has supported the development of many world class attractions including Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World, The Exploratorium, The Guggenheim, Enchanted Kingdom, Omaha Children’s Museum and The Park at OWA.

Shaun is Founder and President of Attractions Academy, supporting your attraction to deliver world class experiences through the management of your people. Attractions Academy provides global attractions virtual and onsite training, organizational development, service excellence system implementation, leadership development, performance improvement, human resource initiatives and operations consultancy for the attractions industry. Shaun is co-author of the industry leadership book ‘Reasons 2 Reward’ and author of numerous attractions industry features. Shaun is currently Chair for the IAAPA Asia Pacific Education Sub Committee and member of the IAAPA Global Education Committee. Shaun has supported the development of many world class attractions including Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World, The Exploratorium, The Guggenheim, Enchanted Kingdom, Omaha Children’s Museum and The Park at OWA.
 

Heather Barnes is the Director of the Aquatic Presentation and Live Programs at the John G. Shedd Aquarium and applies improvisational techniques to hire and train teams and engage guests. She is an improvisational faculty member at the Second City Training Center in Chicago, IL and in 2017 she founded Improv at Work, LLC, and consults with museums, theme parks, universities and organizations nationwide. Heather is currently serving as Chair of the IAAPA Human Resources Subcommittee.