Abigail Simon

Background

About Abigail Simon

Like every other child growing up I was constantly asking “why.” Why do I have to go to bed? Why can’t I turn the living room into a castle and be the princess needing rescued from a dragon (the dog with paper scales tied on)? Why can’t I have a lemonade stand in the middle of winter? As I have grown, that curious “why” has turned into “why not?” and “what if?” These questions now drive my creativity and problem-solving approach. These simple inquiries have shaped me into an innovative professional who is unafraid to think beyond the limitations of a project. While “what if” is often associated with regret, I’ve learned that applying it to future unlocks more possibilities. What if I had an unlimited budget? What if I had enough staff to get all projects done today? By removing boundaries, even hypothetically, you allow bold ideas to take shape. This mindset works across all projects. From small initiatives- like transitioning the diets of Bornean Orangutans and Siamang Gibbons to better represent their natural nutritional intake – to large-scale efforts – such as revamping the Seasonal Keeper Program to develop more well-rounded animal care professionals. In each case, we could have stopped with the basic changes and let obstacles like staffing or budget stop us. Starting with no boundaries, we accomplished two things: First, we set ambitious goals and only modify as needed. Ultimately, this will get us further than expected. Second, we realized that limitations aren’t brick walls; they’re often locked doors. We only need to locate the right keys. This thinking helped us take the dietary transition project beyond food. We were able to reduce carbon energy by delivering bulk amounts of food from the diet kitchen, utilize reusable buckets to eliminate single use plastic bags, and we saved valuable time in our mornings. More time from diets allows for opportunities to invest in other areas. We used this same approach with our Seasonal Keeper Program. After COVID, our short-staffed team relied on seasonals for basic daily tasks. Today, our program emphasizes professional development. Seasonal keepers now take on projects that require problem solving, animal care knowledge, and participating in behavior-based training scenarios. We challenge them to think outside the box, but within realms of species-specific behavioral criteria. At the end of their term, they are skilled, thoughtful team members we would be proud to hire at the #1 Zoo in the country. So, how often have you hit a dead end on project because you didn’t stop to ask, “what if?”