Monterey Bay Aquarium Program Manager

2006 to 2016

Directly responsible for program and staff management including revenue growth in our paid public programs.  Over my tenure, I increased Gross Revenue to over $100,000,000 using underutilized space and time in the Aquarium to create revenue through education and mission enhancing experiences.

Highlights

2007 | Promoted to Manager of Aquarium Adventures where, I spearheaded several new initiatives that improved the revenue from a net of $24,000 in 2006 to a program that now generates gross revenue of over $1,000,000 while supporting 6 FTE’s.

2008 | Worked with the Dive and Husbandry teams to develop an Underwater Explorers program for kids 8-13 which continues each summer to inspire children to explore the ocean.

2008 I Developed and launched a new tour program. The process was a highly collaborative and interdepartmental venture that allowed guests access to behind the scenes areas, and tell the Aquarium Story in new and engaging ways. This program tripled in attendance and revenue over a 10 year period.

2009 | Worked with an outside partner, Sealife Conservation, to create a sailing program on the Monterey Bay.

2010 | Developed a school/group based sleepover program which tripled the revenue for our member based sleepover programs.  It eventually became the largest revenue generating program in the Adventures portfolio.

2011| Developed the Business Management Plan for Aquarium Adventures with 5 year growth projections, annual Summary, and Evaluation benchmarking.

2013 I Spearheaded a multi year evaluation plan to determine ROI and mission success.

2014 I Oversaw a large overhaul and re-branding of the Aquarium Adventures programs which helped increase revenue by 10%.

2015 | Worked with Exhibits Team to create exhibit like quality experiences for tour areas behind-the-scenes, including the addition of a Moon Jelly Tour Pool experience.

2015 | Aquarium Adventures passed the $1M mark for the first time.

Publications and Presentation

2000 | Publication: Breckenridge, Juliet 2000. Putting Conservation into the Hands of Children. Science Museum of Minnesota’s 15th Annual Theatre in Museums Workshop, Minneapolis, MN. September 2000. Breckenridge, Juliet 2000. Heart Strings of Science. Museum Theatre Journal 9(1): 3-4

2011 | Co-led the Why Zoos and Aquarium’s Matter (WZAM) workshop at the 2011 Annual AZA conference.

2012 | Co-led presentation for AZA Conference: “Exploring the Closet: The Not So Glamorous Side of Behind-the-Scenes Tours”