Member Spotlight

Brian Ogle

Brian Ogle is an Assistant Professor of Anthrozoology and the Chair of the Humanities & General Education Department at Beacon College in Central Florida. He is an active anthrozoologist with a focus on conservation & humane education, zoo management, and volunteer management.

Brian's fun facts:

Brian shares his home with three animals: two cats and one rabbit. All three of them were adopted from the Nebraska Humane Society.

Favorite activities include travel, visiting accredited zoos, bird watching, and enjoying the local theme parks.

Favorite places to visit are India and Nepal. The unique mixture of culture, wildlife, and kind people made for a wonderful experience.

BECOME A MEMBER

APHE: How did you get involved in Humane Education?

BO: I became involved with HE due to my education-focused role at a zoo. I was consistently striving for our guests to walk away with a greater appreciation for animals in order to help protect them. My programs focused on creating respect and reverence for an animal solely because it was a living thing rather than because it was useful to humans. When I found APHE it was like I found the best secret club in the world. I still can remember the feeling of excitement to realize there was an entire community of individuals doing the same work across the country.

APHE: How did you become involved with APHE?

BO: I originally became involved with APHE in 2009 as a member. I remember seeing a call for volunteers to serve on the various committees, so I volunteered on the Resources committee. Through my involvement with the committee, I became interested in serving on the Board of Directors.

APHE: What is it like teaching HE at the college level?

BO: Teaching HE at this level is very different from anything like I have done before. HE is integrated into all of my courses, from the general education course everyone needs to graduate all the way to upper-level courses in the major. The best part of teaching in higher education is the flexibility in the approaches I can take in my curriculum and instruction.

APHE: What do you feel are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of teaching HE and what is your hope for its future?

BO: I think segmentation is the greatest challenge to HE. While it is very exciting to see a resurgence in the value of character education and instilling empathy, I see many duplicated efforts as well as segmentation of like-minded individuals due to their field or area of expertise. It often places educators at odds with each other rather than finding the common ground to partner or connect. I think the future of HE is a very exciting one. I think we are standing at the edge of a new horizon for HE. There are many new technologies and resources available to educators. As long as we can continue to reach out to those who can support our e orts and meet our objectives, the field will not only continue to strengthen, but will evolve into a new paradigm we have not seen with HE before.