Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa

Executive – Strategic Projects

Dr. Judy Mann is passionate about marine conservation and has focused her career on helping people to care for the oceans. Prior to her leadership role at Two Oceans Aquariums, she worked for the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) from 1992 to 2021. She was Director of the Education Department for almost 10 years. She was then the Director of uShaka Sea World for 10 years, through the amazing years of building and then moving from the old Sea World to uShaka Sea World. After two years as the CEO of SAAMBR she returned to her passion for conservation and education as the Conservation Strategist of the Association.

Judy holds a PhD from the University of Queensland in Australia, where she studied how best to inspire visitors from multiple cultures to care for the environment. She also has a Master of Science Degree in Ichthyology (Fish) and a Degree in Business management.

Judy has presented at many national and international conferences and has published widely. She has run workshops locally and internationally on zoo and aquarium conservation learning, visitor research and science communication. She has also run many training courses on marine topics for groups ranging from rural mussel collectors to marine protected area managers in various locations along the eastern seaboard of Africa.

She was the co-founder and first chairperson of the South African Marine and Coastal Educators Network (MCEN). This association, started in the mid 1990s has grown to be the voice and network for all marine education in South Africa. She was the international advisor to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association Conservation Education Committee for two years and served as a committee member of the Commission on Education and Communication for the IUCN. Judy has served on the Executive Committee of the Pan-African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (PAAZA) and is currently a council member and Chair of the Conservation and Sustainability Committee for the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA). 

October 2022 – Present
President

October 2018 – October 2022          President-Elect

May 2017 – October 2018      Journal Editor

August 2015 – May 2017        Regional Representative (Africa)