Image
Kathayoon is the Director of Evaluation for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. She recently received her PhD from the Learning Sciences and Technology Design program at Stanford University, using social network analysis to understand how innovation and information spread among the zoo and aquarium community. Kathayoon’s research and professional interests include the role of informal learning institutions in connecting people to nature and promoting conservation. She started her career at the age of 14 as a teen volunteer at the Oregon Zoo and quickly developed a passion for wildlife and conservation. Through over a decade of work in zoo education, Kathayoon has explored and implemented authentic approaches to evaluating visitor learning, including attitude and behavior changes that may have resulted from their visit. She has consulted on education and evaluation for a variety of zoos and aquariums throughout the country and now serves as the co-champion of the AZA’s visitor studies initiative. Kathayoon received her Masters of Environmental Science degree from the Yale School of Forestry and her Bachelors in Organismal Biology from Claremont McKenna College.