Lisa J. Lauf

A professional in the communications field for more than 20 years, Ms. Lauf has built her career upon her passions: wildlife, conservation and communications. Upon graduation from Fairfield University in Connecticut, she joined the advertising world, one in which she was raised. As account executive and public relations manager, she was exposed to all facets of advertising for St. Vincent and St. Lucia as well as many other tourism based clients throughout the United States.

She went on to work with the Anheuser-Busch Theme Parks, both at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, as public relations director and corporate leader of broadcast initiatives, overseeing all aspects of public relations, media relations, national and international television projects and conservation program support for more than 15 years. During that time, she also worked on the public relations committee for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association for ten years, guiding zoological institutions along the path of increased conservation stewardship and animal care and presentation standards.

Ms. Lauf’s career made a natural progression to international broadcast production when she joined Tampa based Spectrum Productions as director of program development and executive producer of “Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures.” Her experiences included traveling to many countries, documenting the conservation initiatives from Africa to Thailand. In fact, “Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures produced several dynamic shows out of Panama. In addition, she developed programming for Discovery Kids, Travel Channel as well as wrote and directed numerous commercial projects.

She went on to create her own communications consulting business for other wildlife and animal welfare organizations including: The Brevard Zoo in Florida, The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Kerzner International’s Atlantis, Paradise Island Resort, The Rewilding Institute, The Northwest School of Animal Massage and the Wildlands Project. Specific work includes communications strategy building, media relations, marketing, community relations, public relations, and government relations.

Ms. Lauf’s experience has led to her current core philosophy: wildlife and marine conservation requires large audiences, partnerships and innovative programs in order to be successful. The time required to meet our massive challenges of environmental stewardship no longer allows for standing on black and white issues…finding common ground is essential among groups on all ends of the animal welfare spectrum.

It is this overall philosophy that underlies all her communications efforts for Ocean Embassy and Wildlife International Network. In her current role, she is responsible for working with governments, tourism officials and developers in creating the communications vehicles and strategies supporting its innovative projects.