Empathy Excellence Award
The Advancing Conservation through Empathy for Wildlife® (ACE for Wildlife®) Network has an established track record of convening zoo and aquarium professionals to learn, create, evaluate, and share effective practices that promote empathy for wildlife. Achieving one of the Network’s goals, to further disseminate empathy practices across the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and beyond, depends on expanding participation in empathy work while continuing to elevate the reputation of empathy practices.
To support that future, the Network recognizes the outstanding work in fostering empathy for wildlife underway across the country and beyond by awarding Empathy Excellence Awards to AZA-accredited organizations or other conservation-based organizations who have implemented innovative and impactful projects that help drive conservation change through fostering empathy for animals and the environment that sustains them. You can learn about the 2025 Empathy Excellence Award at the bottom of this page.
Goals of Empathy Excellence Award Program
- To recognize outstanding projects utilizing empathy for wildlife practices
- To spread awareness of impactful empathy projects
- To encourage the spread of innovative and impactful projects to other organizations
Eligibility for Submission
- All Network Partner Organizations are eligible. Organizations who have at least two ACE for Wildlife Network Affiliates may also apply, as long as the Affiliates have been involved in the Network since October 2025. (Confirm eligibility by emailing empathy@zoo.org)
- Project must have been completed at an AZA-accredited organization or another conservation-based organization in the United States (due to funding restrictions).
- Projects must have had fostering empathy for wildlife as a goal of the project.
Please note that honors will be awarded at the organizational level.
Award Categories
There will be two categories of awards as outlined below:
- Outstanding achievement for empathy projects within one department
- Outstanding achievement for collaborative empathy projects across multiple departments within an organization or with external community partners
For each category, submissions will be reviewed based on their use of empathy-related outcomes as well as the promotion of caring or conservation action, innovation, and assessment of guest and/or staff impact. The number of awards in each category may vary depending on the number of applications in each category.
Award Process
In order to simplify the application process and encourage the greater dissemination of information about impactful projects, the nomination process will now be conducted as part of the 2027 Empathy Summit presentation application. Selected awardees will have their travel expenses covered to attend and present at the 2027 Empathy Summit in Seattle, Washington (February 2-3, 2027).
Applications will be due August 28, 2026. Staff from organizations will submit their own application(s) to be considered for these awards. They will be reviewed by the Advancing Empathy team. Late or incomplete submissions may not be considered.
Winners will be presented with their awardee plaque at the in-person Empathy Summit.
If you have any questions, please email empathy@zoo.org. Responses to general questions will be answered and shared through the FAQ section below through August 24, 2026.
Timeline
Award opportunity announced | Early May 2026 |
Q & A period | May – August 24, 2026 |
Summit presentation/Award application due | August 28, 2026 |
Award announcements | At the Empathy Summit, February 2027 |
Most Valuable Resource Award
A separate process will be conducted to award the ACE for Wildlife Network Most Valuable Resource:
- Most valuable resource from an organization’s empathy project (funded or not)
- Most valuable resource from a committee
These two categories will be based on a simple nomination process for resources (see here), followed by a Network vote through the Empathy Matters Newsletter. We will continue to announce these awards at the October All-Network Meeting.
Timeline
Nomination opportunity announced | June 2026 |
Nomination period closes | August 14, 2026 |
Voting poll open | August 17 – September 18, 2026 |
Award announcements | All Network Fall Meeting, October 22nd |
Frequently Asked Questions
How are the applications assessed and by whom?
The Advancing Empathy Team at Woodland Park Zoo will review all applications and score them based on their use of empathy practices as well as the promotion of caring or conservation action, innovation, and assessment of guest and/or staff impact.
What is the timeline for application and announcement of awardees?
We are integrating award submissions into our 2027 Empathy Summit presentation proposal submission process (look for announcements about this in early May). If you want your work to be considered for an Empathy Excellence Award in addition to a presentation proposal, you must fill out an additional component of the form. If this portion is not completed, it is assumed that the submission is to be considered as a presentation proposal only. Thus, there will still be applicants invited to speak at the Empathy Summit who are not receiving the Empathy Excellence Award. We will announce awardees at the event in Seattle.
Can we apply for more than one category?
Yes, organizations may apply for more than one category in the Empathy Excellence Award though it is unlikely that one organization will receive multiple awards. Please note that being nominated (or self-nominating) your organization for the Most Valuable Resource Award will not impact eligibility for earning the Empathy Excellence Award.
If I am an Affiliate and my organization is not a Partner, why does the award go to my organization?
While the work may be completed by one or a few individuals at an organization, the impact will be at the organizational level (staff, facilities, and guests). We feel that it is important to recognize outstanding projects at the institutional level to spread awareness of impactful empathy projects and to encourage the spread of innovative and impactful projects to other organizations.
If I have already submitted this project for another award, do I need to fill out the application?
In an effort to minimize the time burden of an application, please note that you are welcome to submit a pre-existing grant report, another award application, or similar documentation for consideration. You should still complete the award nomination section of the Empathy Summit application and then follow directions about submitting the report.
What will the award be?
Awardees will receive a travel scholarship to present their project at the 2027 Empathy Summit, a plaque, and be featured in the Empathy Matters newsletter and on the Network’s LinkedIn page. Note that for Partner Organizations, who are selected as awardees, this will be an additional travel scholarship over the two complimentary travel scholarships already designated to attend the event.
How do we submit photos of the project?
You will need to email 2-3 photos of your project to empathy@zoo.org with the subject “Empathy Excellence Award.” Please be sure to include Name of organization and Project Title in your email so we can add those to your application materials. In the email, please also authorize media use approval and provide caption language so we can share about award winners on social media and in the Empathy Matters newsletter. For all images included in your application, please follow these guidelines to ensure the images are suitable for submission:
Image Quality: Photo dimensions should roughly the following sizes: Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio), Landscape: 1920 x 1080 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio), Portrait: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16 aspect ratio); Format: JPEG; Images must be of the project for submission; and please do not submit AI-generated images or heavily edited photos.
2025 Empathy Excellence Awards
In the category of outstanding achievement for empathy projects within one department: Minnesota Zoo’s Bringing Empathy for Animals to Traditionally Underserved Audiences
This program designed and implemented ambassador animal education programs for audiences with economic, geographic, or health-related barriers to coming to the Zoo. Program structure and curriculum design were based on best practices for implementing culturally responsive programs as well as empathy for animals. During the grant period over 120 ambassador animal programs offsite and virtually were provided to the targeted populations.
In the category of outstanding achievement for multi-departmental empathy project at a small zoo: Henry Vilas Zoo’s Interpretive Master Plan Focused on Empathy, Inclusivity, and Individual Animal Connection
Henry Vilas Zoo’s Interpretive Master Plan Focused on Empathy, Inclusivity, and Individual Animal Connection where they developed a cohesive Interpretive Master Plan and their work resulted in the enhancement of nearly 80% of the zoo’s interpretive elements, through the installation of new signage, murals and digital media. A pivotal feature of these elements is the incorporation of individualized animal information and narratives. By conveying unique traits and compelling storylines that foster empathetic connections, they have ingrained empathy as an integral component of all messages in the zoo.
In the category of Outstanding achievement for multi-departmental empathy project at a large zoo: Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s Infusing Empathy into Biofacts Programs
Through this program, the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (Society) formalized their new BioFacts program, which entailed creating a biofacts interpretive guide video series; and creating a biofacts maintenance guide video series. These videos are now available worldwide on YouTube to assist other organizations in their biofact practices.
