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Jenny Kearns

Wednesday, 04 November 2009

Jenny Kearns has a lot of responsibilities as the Director of the Ty Warner Sea Center, an aquarium in Santa Barbara, CA. Her love of the ocean grew from her passion for the Hawaiian monk seal and flourished as she gained experience working with many different aspects of the ocean.

Keeping an aquarium running seems like hard work! What is involved in running an aquarium?
My job changes from day to day depending on the circumstances and I love that. We have a wonderful staff that works very close together to instill a passion for the marine environment in our visitors. Since we work with live animals, we are constantly monitoring their health and ensuring that they are ambassadors for their kind. We are continually developing new exhibits to showcase the marine life found within our ocean habitat of Santa Barbara Channel. We also work to bring awareness to our community about issues related to the ocean.

What type of knowledge did you gain moving from a pure biologist to a business woman in charge of all aspects of the Sea Center?
My love of science began at an early age and I knew that I wanted to major in Biology in college. As my career progressed in the museum and aquarium field, I realized that without proper funding, these facilities would not be able to carry out their missions. I decided to further my education and obtain a Masters of Business Administration. At first it was difficult to leave the day-to-day operations. I missed working directly with the marine mammals and scuba diving. As I moved into management, I realized that my view of the organizations became wider and not so focused in one area. Now I find it exciting to work with so many different people from different backgrounds.

How did you fall in love with the ocean and how did you end up at the Museum of Natural History and Ty Warner Sea Center?
In the early 1990�s I read an article about the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal and felt the urge to do whatever I could to help the species. I moved to Hawaii and the Monk Seal became the focus of my master�s thesis. Later, in 2004 I was working at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and came across literature about the new Sea Center that was about to be built on Stearns Wharf. It looked intriguing so applied for the Director�s position. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a fantastic place because it inspires a thirst for discovery and a passion for the natural world.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
My favorite part of the job is working with passionate and dedicated staff. My least favorite part is dealing with emergencies that impact our Museum. (As I answer this question we have the Jesusita fire burning near our beloved Museum and had to close today)

By the time the Jesusita fire in Santa Barbara was out, it had burned 8,733 acres. How was the Museum of Natural History affected, as it was right by the burn zone?
In order to be sensitive to our neighbors, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History decided to evacuate the day the fire broke out and close the museum. By the second day, the museum was in a mandatory evacuation area and the museum was closed for a total of five days. Since we have approximately 3 million objects, it was impossible to evacuate everything, but fortunately the fire didn�t reach our property and we were one of the lucky ones.

What are your suggestions for protecting our declining ocean environment?
Be informed! There are so many ways to help the ocean and the more you actively search for solutions and take action the better off we will all be. The Ty Warner Sea Center is passionate about sustainable seafood and we have worked with local restaurants on serving only sustainable options.

What is your favorite ocean experience?
I was snorkeling in Hawaii for the first time and was astounded by the beauty and diversity of the animals. I had grown up in Chicago and very little contact with marine life until college.

Biography:
Jenny Kearns is the director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Ty Warner Sea Center and Deputy Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. In this position, Kearns is responsible for the management and day to day operations of the Museum and Sea Center. Also, she currently serves on the Board of the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission. Kearns previously taught biology and environmental science at numerous colleges throughout Southern California, including Ventura College, and also worked at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach where she worked for five years as a senior mammalogist and most recently as director of development. Earlier, she served at the Waikiki Aquarium as an aquarium biologist and manager of the Hawaiian Monk Seal Program. Kearns holds three degrees including a B.A. in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley, a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Master�s degree in Business Administration from California State University at Long Beach.