Making a difference every day

Originally from South Dakota, Jody made her first trip to California and SeaWorld San Diego when she was 12 years old. It was a trip that would change her life. As an avid animal lover and science geek, Jody knew immediately that she wanted to work at the park and she set out to make that dream a reality. Ten years later, after graduating from South Dakota State University with a degree in biology, Jody moved to San Diego and began working at SeaWorld. Within a year she was working in the Zoological department and was introduced to marine mammal rescue in 1997 when she helped rescue, rehabilitate and release to the wild a stranded baby gray whale calf named J.J. Today she coordinates SeaWorld’s marine mammal rescue efforts that in a typical year help nurse over 150 ill, injured or orphaned animals back to health and back to the ocean.