A generous lead gift means the Georgia Aquarium need not rely too heavily on fundraising

By Abny Santicola

When I first started here, that was the one thing that my executive director said. He said, “You know, it’s important to listen. Listen to everyone and then make your decisions.”

And so a lot of what we do here, a lot of the changes that we make and a lot of the programs that we implemented were based on listening not just to other aquariums but to other attractions, from baseball teams to theme parks to people that have worked in zoos and aquariums for years, or museums — listening to all different types of people to really incorporate best practices instead of making your decision based on just what every other aquarium does.