AEF Visits World Bird Sanctuary

January 16, 2019

AEF & WBS staff: Dawn Griffard (Executive Director WBS); Jim Marietta (President & CEO AEF); Katelyn Dotson (Curator of Birds AEF); Laura Sterbens (Director of Public Relations & Social Media AEF); Daniel Cone (Curator of Science & Conservation WBS); Paige Davis (Curator of Bird Training WBS); Spencer Williams (Chief Operations Officer AEF); Ben Montgomery (Program Director WBS); John Stokes (Board Member AEF & Founder of ‘Wings to Soar’)

On January 9, 2018, staff from the American Eagle Sanctuary traveled to Valley Park, Missouri (about 20 miles from St. Louis) to visit the World Bird Sanctuary. This was a great opportunity to tour their facilities and meet their dedicated staff of executives and trainers!

With significant facility improvements planned in the near future for AEF, it is obviously very helpful to see how other organizations with similar requirements have structured their facilities. Sharing ideas with the World Bird Sanctuary was exciting and productive. As a result of this first official meeting, Jim Marietta, President & CEO of the American Eagle Foundation, issued this statement:

“The American Eagle Foundation is excited to announce an alliance with the World Bird Sanctuary. The WBS has been a distinguished and leading organization in bird conservation for over 40 years, and the AEF looks forward to working with them on shared visions and goals—preserving and protecting all bird species, while seeking to inspire others to join us in our conservation efforts.”

We look forward to hosting staff members from World Bird Sanctuary in a reciprocal visit to the American Eagle Foundation in the near future.