AmeriCorps - Zoo Program Education Member

The ZOO UNTO OTHERS Ameri Corps Program

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (CZBG) and Ameri Corps have partnered to serve three communities in our region—Human, Wildlife, and Ecological Communities—to further our mission and create a world where people and wildlife can thrive and prosper. To this end, we have created service positions that bring a variety of fun, impactful, and conservation-based service opportunities that positively impact youth, zoo visitors, the animals in our care, and our local environment.

Examples of the impactful service the program provides are:

• Providing quality STEM education to economically disadvantaged PreK-12th grade students
• Engaging Zoo visitors, volunteers, Zooteens, and community members in conservation practices and behaviors.
• Creating and maintaining Zoo and community garden spaces that create wildlife habitat and green space for residents.
• Maximizing the wellbeing of the animals in our care
• Creating conservation partnerships that amplify our impact.
• Supporting a variety of sustainability initiatives that reduce our carbon footprint.

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is known for many things—our conservation efforts, our green initiatives, our friendly staff… We’re more than coworkers… we’re family. By building collaborative relationships, displaying positivity & energy, having pride, passion & a sense of ownership, supporting accountability, mutual trust & respect, and embracing progressive thinking, we have built a team of dedicated staff that focuses on our visitors, our community, & our future.

If this gets you fired up, we look forward to having you join our team!

The incumbent is a full‑time Ameri Corps position serving 1,700 hours (40 hours per week) over an 11‑month term of service (October 5 2026 to September 24 2027). They will report directly to and be supervised by the Education Program Managers. Schedules will serve 5 days a week, 8‑hour days and assigned as needed Monday–Saturday. Members serving in the Education Department will work within a variety of programming including Zoo Troop, camps, schools programming, off‑grounds outreach in the community, and programs for participants with developmental disabilities.

This position will be in a cohort of six Ameri Corps Members, creatively collaborating to achieve program goals specifically focused on:

• Training on and handling live education animal ambassadors, employing the highest care and presentation standards.
• Providing STEM education to economically disadvantaged PreK‑12th grade students to improve science literacy and academic engagement.
• Serving both school and public education audiences through the recruitment, preparation, instruction, development and maintenance of curriculum, and evaluation of educational programming offered through the Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF).
• Teaching programs with children with varying developmental and physical disabilities.
• Assisting with teacher professional development, program instruction, and evaluation.
• Collaborating with a local public school to offer urban learning garden programs in‑school and after‑school.
• Supporting community‑based conservation service opportunities at the Zoo and at surrounding partner sites.
• Developing and promoting inclusive practices and resources across all Zoo Education programming.
• Mentoring high school students (Zoo Academy students and Zoo Teens) in conservation and environmental education.
• Collecting and analyzing data collected from program participants.

• Strong writing skills
• Strong communication and public speaking skills
• Strong customer service skills
• Excellent organizational skills with ability to meet deadlines and independently manage multiple tasks and timely follow‑through, with flexibility to adapt to changing needs and to serve effectively with minimal supervision
• Willingness to seek and use available resources to support problem‑solving efforts
• Ability to independently problem solve and think strategically
• Ability to serve and build relationships with people from diverse…