Organizations Filed Purposes:
WE INSPIRE PEOPLE TO EXPLORE, DISCOVER AND LEARN ABOUT EARTH'S DIVERSE ECOSYSTEMS.
AQUARIUM PROGRAM -THE AQUARIUM CONSISTS OF SIX PRIMARY EXHIBIT AREAS CENTERED AROUND UNIQUE GEOGRAPHIC ECOSYSTEMS FOUND ON EARTH. EXHIBITS INCLUDE OCEAN EXPLORER, EXPEDITION ASIA, PENGUIN RESEARCH STATION, DISCOVER UTAH, JOURNEY TO SOUTH AMERICA, AND DEEP SEA LAB. IN 2019, WE HAD THE CHALLENGE OF COMPLETING OUR FIRST EVER APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS. IT WAS AN ALL-HANDS-ON-DECK INITIATIVE, AND STAFF MEMBERS FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS ASSISTED WITH THE PROCESS. THE APPLICATION TOOK MONTHS TO PREPARE, AND LOTS OF SMALL IMPROVEMENTS AROUND THE AQUARIUM FROM OUR FACILITIES TEAM, AND A THREE-DAY, ON-SITE INSPECTION. WE WERE DELIGHTED TO HEAR, ESPECIALLY AS FIRST-TIME APPLICANTS, THAT WE RECEIVED OUR ACCREDITATION THE AZA ACCREDITS ONLY ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS WHO MEET THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF ANIMAL CARE AND CONSERVATION. FEWER THAN 10 PERCENT OF ANIMAL EXHIBITORS REGISTERED WITH USDA HAVE ACHIEVED AZA-ACCREDITATION. THE AQUARIUM JOINS UTAH'S HOGLE ZOO AND TRACY AVIARY AS AZA ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS IN UTAH. IN JUNE 2019, WE UNVEILED A NEW EXHIBITION CALLED ANIMAL VISION: THROUGH NATURE'S EYES. THIS GAVE GUESTS A GLIMPSE INTO HOW DIFFERENT ANIMALS SEE, AND THE UNIQUE ADAPTATIONS THEY HAVE. SIGHT VARIES GREATLY FROM SPECIES TO SPECIES, AND THIS EXHIBITION GAVE GUESTS A CHANCE TO UNDERSTAND OUR ANIMALS FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE. WE ALSO LAUNCHED THE LPA CORAL RESCUE PROGRAM IN THE PHILIPPINES IN JUNE 2019. OUR GOAL IS TO RESTORE 22 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF CORAL REEF IN THE CORAL TRIANGLE. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL, THE AQUARIUM DEVELOPED PARTNERSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES, ORGANIZED A TEAM OF BIOLOGISTS AND DIVERS, AND STARTED A FUNDRAISING PLATFORM WHERE EVERYONE INTERESTED IN THE HEALTH OF OUR OCEANS CAN GET INVOLVED. THERE IS HOPE IN RESTORING CORAL REEFS. WE ARE STARTING IN THE PHILIPPINES BECAUSE IT'S A CRITICAL AREA FOR BIODIVERSITY, AND HOME TO NEARLY 600 SPECIES OF REEF- BUILDING CORALS. LPA CORAL RESCUE USES A PROVEN METHOD, OFTEN REFERRED TO AS CORAL FARMING, WHICH UTILIZES UNDERWATER CORAL FARMS TO GROW AND THEN "REPLANT" CORAL FRAGMENTS TO RE-ESTABLISH HEALTHY REEFS.
EDUCATION PROGRAM - EACH YEAR, THE ORGANIZATION HOSTS FIELD TRIPS FROM HUNDREDS OF SCHOOLS IN UTAH AS WELL AS MANY SCHOOLS IN IDAHO AND WYOMING. THE ORGANIZATION OFFERS CORE-BASED CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION TAILORED TO THE SPECIFIC GRADE LEVEL, AND APPROXIMATELY 40% OF TEACHERS ELECTS THIS FREE PROGRAM OVER SELF-GUIDED FIELD TRIPS. DURING 2019, APPROXIMATELY 50,875 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS VISITED THE AQUARIUM AS PART OF A SCHOOL FIELD TRIP. IN ADDITION TO FIELD TRIPS, AQUARIUM EDUCATORS VISIT NEARLY EVERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN THE STATE OF UTAH ANNUALLY AS PART THE ORGANIZATION'S OUTREACH PROGRAM. OUTREACH VISITS ARE STRUCTURED FOR CLASSROOM LEVEL PROGRAMS FOR GRADES 2, 4 AND 6. IN 2019, OVER 85,000 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN 620 SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE STATE RECEIVED CLASSROOM-BASED INSTRUCTION AT THEIR SCHOOL AT NO COST.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Brent Andersen | CEO/FOUNDER | 40 | $349,901 |
| Gary Christensen | CFO | 40 | $205,641 |
| Heather Doggett | COO | 40 | $164,913 |
| Rick White | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Ron Nielsen | CHAIRMAN | 1 | $0 |
| Ken Murdock | SECRETARY | 1 | $0 |
| Jim Loveland | TREASURER | 1 | $0 |
| Michele Depasquale Hilton | VICE CHAIRMA | 1 | $0 |
| Terry Grant | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Jeff Flamm | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Tim Cosgrove | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202013219349307931_public.xml