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What made you decide to start volunteering with Save the Manatee Club?

I fell in love with manatees on a visit to Blue Spring State Park a few years back, and sought out an adoption program as soon as I returned home to Boston. That’s how I discovered Save the Manatee Club—and since then, I’ve been hooked! I got involved in everything I could from afar, from running the virtual Manatee 5K to participating in the art contest and donating my artwork for holiday cards. Knowing how much I wanted to help out “on the ground,” Daniel got in touch with Gina and surprised me with a trip to Florida and an opportunity to volunteer with Save the Manatee Club at the Orange City Blue Spring Manatee Festival. Gina invited me to make art for festival patrons as the resident “Manatee Festival Artist” and I was thrilled to do it! It was sort of a full-circle moment to return to Blue Spring that way.

Who is your adopted manatee, and why did you choose them?

My adoptee is Moo Shoo. Her cute name drew me in first, and then I learned all about her sweet and playful personality, as well as her funny antics like nudging the research canoe! Moo Shoo had a calf this season, and it’s been such a joy to get updates about her and the little one via social media.

Do you have any favorite moments or experiences while volunteering?

Up in Boston, manatees aren’t on a lot of people’s radar! So it was amazing to attend an entire festival dedicated to manatees, meet hundreds of people who love them just as much as I do, and hear the pride in people’s voices as they talked about their Save the Manatee Club adoptees.

It felt really meaningful to use my art to connect with people and raise donations for a good cause like manatee conservation.

And of course, it was wonderful to meet Save the Manatee Club staff in person after talking with them online for so many years!

Tell us briefly about your hobbies, interests, career, where you’re originally from, etc.

Daniel and I both work in higher education in Boston—but we’re also artists! I’m a visual artist and Daniel is a guitarist and songwriter. I was born in Utah and raised in Connecticut, and he was born and raised in Naples, Italy. We both love to travel, which brings us down to Florida periodically to see our friends the manatees!