Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms!

My guest this week is Charley Shepherd, a Senior Mammal Care Specialist at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Jacksonville, FL.

At the time of this interview, Charley was pregnant! She and I talk about the differences between her first and second pregnancy. With both, she had to learn how to navigate restrictions and the guilt that came with knowing she had physical limitations that impacted her team. Sometimes it feels like coworkers, especially those who don't have children or don't want children, have a hard time understanding or are less enthusiastic about accepting the fact that, as a pregnant person, you will be less able to contribute to certain tasks. It's hard to feel like your personal decisions are impacting everyone on your team at work.

We also talk about getting ready to go from one child to two, and what she is nervous and concerned about. Postpartum depression was part of her journey with her first child, and that is something she is worried will come back with the second. With her first, she was dismissed by the first doctor she saw, but was able to advocate for herself to see another doctor who really listened to what she was saying and was able to help her - something which she says she is so thankful for and tells that doctor all the time! Advocating can be hard, especially when you're already in a fragile mental or emotional state!

Finally, we talk about trying to find that elusive work/life balance and Charley shares what has been helpful for her. However, she does admit that being the senior-most person on her team has her struggling sometimes with maintaining that balance!

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Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms!

This week, my guest is Loren Berry, a woman who wears many hats within the zoo and aquarium field! A former zookeeper for 17 years, Loren now serves as the Chapter Development Manager for the American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK). Additionally, through the Katie Adamson Conservation Fund (KACF), a conservation organization founded by a former coworker at the Denver Zoo, she serves as an Educator and the Event Coordinator for the organization's main fundraising gala, Katie's Night.

Loren was still a hoofstock keeper when she became a mom, and we reminisce about her pregnancies, maternity leaves, first visitors at the hospital after giving birth (hers were zookeeper friends!), and her postpartum periods.

We then talk about her transition out of animal care into her current roles. She loves that the roles she has now have allowed her to stay connected to the zoo field, but admits it was hard to leave and came with many emotions!

Finally, we talk about conservation traveling for extended periods of time and how Loren and her family prep for her to be gone and communicate while she is away.

Check out the links below for more info about the two organizations mentioned in this episode:

American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK)

Katie Adamson Conservation Fund (KACF)

Mothering Wildlife links:
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Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms!

This week I talk to Briana Schmidt, a Lead Aquarist at the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. Briana offers the "wet perspective" of being a working mom in the zoo and aquarium field. My guests are often of the "terrestrial" sort and today Briana and I dive in to what it is like to be an aquarist and a mom.

Briana gives us the low down on what it's like to work as a pregnant aquarist and how hard it was for her to not be in the water at work while she was pregnant. We even discuss, at length, maternity clothes and the struggles of finding what to wear when there is a uniform policy! Why don't maternity pants have pockets or belt loops! Side note, Briana came up with a great solution to this challenge.

Briana also discusses her postpartum life and how hard it is to have a newborn and feeling like you're not sure what to do; feeling hypervigilant but super tired and how most of us look back on that time and don't even recognize ourselves in that version of us.

Finally, we talk about the realities of our schedules in this field and how she tries to think of her time with her son as quality over quantity to help her get through those times when she is feeling sad about how much she works and how little times she feels like she has with her family.

Mothering Wildlife links:
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Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms!

My guest this week is Jessica Lelesch, the lead keeper over the Akrons Zoo's hoofstock and primate team.

Like the episode title suggests, Jessica and I talk about a variety of subjects that all lead into living a new “norm” once you become a mother…and especially a working mother!

Jessica and I talk about having babies during COVID, when your birth plan doesn’t go as planned, and the feelings surrounding going back to work after maternity leave; all topics that definitely require you to learn how to adjust to new routines and new norms.

Mothering Wildlife links:
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Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms!

This week, I am sharing my story! As host of the Mothering Wildlife Podcast, I have been so thankful to all my guests for sharing their stories, so I thought it was about time that I shared my own.

Join me as I dive into my professional journey from zookeeper to registrar. I recount all the facilities and roles that I've held in the past 20 years, including those at the Naples Zoo, Dallas Zoo, and Longneck Manor.

I also talk a bit about my children and how a couple of nights ago, I sat at my dinner table and had a moment where I realized I needed to deal with my emotions surrounding whether or not I am done having children. My two boys, 10 and 5, have been the lights of my life, and I talk very candidly about both my postpartum periods and the struggles I endured - from breastfeeding to intrusive thoughts, and returning to work.

I hope my story is as comforting as those stories of my guests. This podcast has been so important in creating a community of moms within the zoo field, sharing each other's challenges and successes, and allowing one to feel a little less alone. Enjoy!

Mothering Wildlife links:
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Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms!

My guest this week is Kayla Freeman, the Large Mammal Supervisor at Blank Park Zoo. She cares for a variety of large hoofstock, including rhino, giraffe, camel, and okapi. As a working supervisor, she spends a good portion of her week out in the field, working with the animals. However, she is able to dedicate one day to doing office work. Like so many others in a working supervisory role, Kayla is busy! She shares that efficiency and time management are so critical!

Kayla is a mom to three, but when Kayla started working at Blank Park Zoo she was 20 weeks pregnant with her first child. Kayla and I talk very candidly about the postpartum period. She shares how different each of her postpartum periods were and she opens up about her struggles during her third postpartum and how it made her realize that she needed to take care of herself and her mental health.

Now that her children are getting a little older, Kayla is working towards being involved in the larger AZA community. She feels that her capacity to focus on professional involvement has changed, especially since she has been able to set boundaries around what she is involved in by asking, "What commitments are involved?" This is such a great question to set expectations up front when starting to involve yourself in larger professional projects!

Mothering Wildlife links:
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Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms!

My guest this week is Sarah Radecker, a Wildlife Connections Supervisor at the Houston Zoo. Sarah manages a team of 21 keepers while overseeing a very diverse animal collection, including reptiles, small mammals like mongoose and meerkats, and ambassador animals!

Sarah and I dive into the postpartum period and what it is like to return to work. We talk about how it feels easier to return to a job you are passionate about as well as how returning to a team with other moms can really help the transition.

Sarah's journey in the zoo field also includes a brief amount of time spent working out of the field. We talk about the emotions that come with stepping away from that "zookeeper" identity and how reframing her mindset helped with that pivot to something new. She made an intentional choice to focus on motherhood during this time, and she shares how she embraced that - as well as how she ultimately made her way back to the zoo!

Mothering Wildlife links:
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Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms!

My guest this week is Channing Milchuck, a Primate Swing Keeper from Zoo Atlanta. Channing and I talk about how being a zookeeper is a second career for her. She started in vet medicine and spent almost a decade doing that before transitioning into being an animal keeper.

We also spend a fair amount of time talking about what it is like to have a husband in the Navy and how that has impacted their family life and the start of her zookeeping career.

Channing has great advice for other moms in the zoo field: she always tries to put family first and makes sure that she feels positive about her home life because that makes her then feel more energized at work. Prior to having children she would not have considered herself an organized person but now she is and she says it has been a game changer.

Mothering Wildlife links:
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Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com