Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Dehart.
Hi Andy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was introduced to the underwater world at the age of 4 when my father, a former navy hard hat diver, taught me how to snorkel. At the age of 5 while snorkeling in the Florida Keys with my dad I saw a 6′ Caribbean reef shark which changed my life. From that moment on I knew I wanted to be a marine biologist.
At the age of 15 I started working at the National Aquarium in Baltimore in a high school student summer program. I continued to volunteer and intern at the National Aquarium throughout high school and college until I got my first full time job as an Aquarist helping to build and open the aquarium at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska. It was here that I truly was able to build my experience working with sharks.
I eventually returned to the National Aquarium and over 14 years held many positions at both the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. locations, eventually becoming the Director of Fishes and Aquatic Invertebrates. Concurrently with my role at National Aquarium I served as the Shark Advisor for the Discovery Channel and was featured in 7 Shark Week productions. This amazing opportunity allowed me to work with sharks from the Bahamas to Alaska and interacting with some truly amazing species like the salmon shark, which few had ever been in the water with.
In 2012 I left to help build and open the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in downtown Toronto as the Director of Animal Husbandry. This world class aquarium is at the base of the CN Tower and also has an offsite animal quarantine and holding facility in Buffalo, NY.
After saying I never wanted to do another aquarium opening again due to the intense work and pressure it requires I decided in 2015 to do another opening, this time the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami. I joined Frost Science as VP of Animal Husbandry and Marine Conservation when the museum was still operating in the old museum site near Vizcaya Museum. It was a thrill and an honor to help build and open this state of the art museum that is a science, museum, planetarium and aquarium all one. The signature exhibit, the Gulf Stream Exhibit, is one of a kind in the aquarium industry and a thrill to be a part of.
To date the main focus of my career had been the attraction world through working at several public aquarium facilities. At each location I was heavily involved in conservation from sea grass restoration, to shark tagging, to removal of invasive lionfish, and restoration efforts on Florida’s Coral Reef. In 2022 I had the opportunity to put the conservation hat first while still working at a best in class attraction. It was in 2022 I joined Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) as the President & CEO. LMC is an active sea turtle hospital focused on rehabilitation, research, conservation and education in a free access public facility. We were just named the #1 Best Free Attraction by USA Today and see roughly 450,000 visitors between the Center and the Juno Beach Pier which we manage.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My career has been an amazing journey and I have been able to experience truly incredible things from tiger sharks, to leatherback sea turtles and even brown bears. Many of the projects I have been on have been grueling. Typically the final push to open a new aquarium can involve 80 hour work weeks as the final addition of animals and the fine tuning of the filtration is always the last step. The hard work and grit required for this work is quickly paid off when the first visitors come through a new facility and you get to witness the awe on their faces.
I was never an excellent student in high school or college. I had many people tell me I would never make it in the competitive field of marine science because of that. I countered that by taking jobs others might not have taken, such as a marine biologist working in Nebraska or trying new things like being one of the first to start studying gut contents of invasive lionfish when they started showing up in the Bahamas.
I have also had to move a great deal for opportunities as aquariums are not in every town. While the road has been far from smooth it has been very rewarding.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As I have progressed through the aquarium industry in numerous roles and increasing responsibility the power of a good team became perfectly clear. My time working at the National Aquarium in Washington, D.C. was an inspirational time for me. Our Executive Director was a true mentor for what good leadership looked like. While this aquarium was the oldest in the US at the time and in need of dramatic improvements he was able to recruit a talented team to oversee this renovation. Once in place he led with passion and trusted his incredible staff to do what they do best while also keeping us accountable. So while working in aquariums or rehabilitation centers sounds like fun, which it is, they are only really successful if you have a great corporate culture. I feel my strength is building strong teams, giving them the tools to do what they do best and giving them the freedom to do it. While it would be easy to pick any of the aquariums I have helped open and say those were my proudest moments I would say that I am most proud of the staff that worked with me that are now Curators, Dive Safety Officers, Directors and Vice Presidents throughout the aquarium world. I hope in some way I helped unlock the talent they had.
Any big plans?
We have a number of projects currently in the works such as a renovated hospital, research laboratory and water quality laboratory. We also have a long list of campus improvements we want to keep making so that guests keep coming back to visit their favorite patients.
For over 40 years Loggerhead Marinelife Center has been a donation based facility ensuring anyone can come have a great experience learning about sea turtles and marine life. While visiting the Center staff can enjoy beautiful Juno Beach from the shared beach access parking part of the Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation locations.
Pricing:
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center is free to visit although we welcome donations to help us continue our critical work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marinelife.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loggerheadmarinelifecenter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loggerheadmarinelifecenter
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@loggerheadmarinelifecenter
Image Credits
Tracey Benson Photography Chad Baumer
