Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Madeline and Erin sit down with Jeff Flocken, President and CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific, for his first podcast appearance since joining the institution. Jeff shares the winding path that brought him here, from studying giraffes in Africa, to law school, to nearly two decades of global wildlife policy work, and what it felt like to trade policy campaigns for waders in the San Gabriel River. We also hear the full story of Porkchop, the Aquarium's three-flippered green sea turtle, from her rescue and rehabilitation to her release back into the river she calls home. In this episode: Jeff's path from field research and law school to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Humane Society International, and the Aquarium of the PacificThe campaign to list African lions as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species ActThe Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders program (EWCL), what it is, how it works, and why Jeff co-founded it 20 years agoErin's connection to the program as a member of the 11th classJeff's first impressions of the Aquarium and the conservation work already underwayPorkchop's rescue from the San Gabriel River, her year of rehabilitation at the Aquarium, and her releaseWhat it felt like for Jeff, a career policy advocate, to release an animal into the wild for the first timeThe Aquarium's current conservation programs: white abalone, sunflower sea stars, sea otter surrogacy, coral restoration, bull kelp, zebra sharks, monarch butterflies, mountain yellow-legged frogs, and moreJeff's conservation dream: sea otters reclaiming their historic range from Alaska to MexicoThe animated short film Save Ralph, and how it helped pass cosmetic animal testing bans in four countries within a yearJeff's wildlife hero: Dr. Jane GoodallChewbacca, Jeff's golden retriever, a rescue from a dog meat farm in South KoreaGet involved: Southern California Sea Turtle Monitoring Program: first Saturday of each month, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.Los Cerritos Wetlands monthly cleanupDonate to the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation CenterNOAA's Sea Turtle Stranding Hotline: 562-506-4315Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (aka EWCL)Watch "Save Ralph", Humane Society International’s global campaign to ban animal testing for cosmeticsStay connected: If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you are subscribed to Aquarium of the Podcific wherever you are listening, and leave us a five-star review! It goes a long way in helping new listeners find the show. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Email us at podcific@lbaop.org! Follow the Aquarium of the Pacific across social media (@aquariumpacific) for fun animal videos, conservation updates, and more. Follow the podcast's own Instagram (@podcific) for episode updates and behind-the-scenes content. Thanks for listening!
