Episode Eight: Life at a Department of Natural Resources

Do you work for a fish and wildlife agency, and have you ever wondered what life is like at a Department of Natural Resources, which might encompass many agencies under one roof? You’re not alone. This podcast host (Tim) has forever been curious about the differences between fish and wildlife agencies and Departments of Natural Resources in terms of communications.

I sat down with Jess Brown, social media coordinator at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and Brent Drinkut, a photographer for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, way back in July when we were all in Virginia together.

If you’re new to conservation communication or looking for work in the conservation communication realm, I hope you find this episode helpful or at least an interesting look at how different communications can be depending on what type of agency you might work for.

Episode Seven: Podcasting about podcasting

If you attended the annual ACI Conference in Roslyn, Virginia in July 2024, then there’s a good chance you saw us make this episode on stage in front of a live audience. Jason Harmon, Communications Manager for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and Emily McCabe, Information and Education Director for the Maine Department of Fisheries and Wildlife guest-starred on this episode and filled in for co-host Ashley Zeme. Our discussion centered around some of the aspects of starting a podcast, types of podcasts, and generating podcast ideas. It also features listener questions about podcasting equipment and setting expectations.

Episode Six: Imposter Syndrome with Dr. Rob Munjal

The Outdoor Communicators Podcast hosts Ashley Zeme and Tim Akimoff talk imposter syndrome with a varied group of guests this episode, including Wisconson Department of Natural Resource’s Katie Grant, PayIt’s Samantha Pedder, former Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation social media coordinator Sarah Southerland, historian and influencer Ashley Lewis and featured guest Dr. Rob Munjal. Imposter syndrome may not be the most-obvious topic for a conservation communication podcast, but it’s something that impacts more of us than might be obvious.

Episode Five: Virginia is for ACI

If Virginia is for Lovers (the state slogan) then it stands to reason all the members of ACI, who are lovers of the outdoors, hunting, fishing, conservation and communicating about all of the things we love, then Virginia is also for ACI. It’s also the place where most of us (we’ll miss you Ashley) will be gathering in July for the annual ACI Conference. In this episode, your hosts Ashley Zeme and Tim Akimoff chat with Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Digital Marketing Manager Caitlyn Fralin Jacobus about what you can expect at the conference as an attendee.

Episode Four: Videography with Texas Parks & Wildlife

Ron Kabele, now retired, has more than 40 Emmy Awards as a video producer for Texas Parks & Wildlife over the course of his career. Garrett Graham is the newest member of the legendary team that has produced so many award-winning, personality-driven videos for the TPW Television Series. Ashley Zeme of the Nevada Department of Wildlife and Tim Akimoff from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife talked to Kabele and Graham about what it’s like to have your dream job and what all goes into making award-winning videos. Not every natural resource agency has the resources for a full video team, so we asked the team from Texas some of the secrets to their success and what they think the future of video looks like.

Episode Three: The M Word with Jenifer Wisniewski

Hosts Ashley Zeme and Tim Akimoff tackle the world of conservation marketing with the legendary Jenifer Wisniewski of the National Deer Association in this episode of The Outdoor Communicators Podcast. Marketing has long been a whispered term around many state fish and wildlife agencies, but that is no longer the case, according to Wisniewski, who has tried everything from putting ads on dating apps to selling hunting and fishing licenses at farmers markets in an effort to get at what really works in the world of marketing the great outdoors.

Episode Two: Crisis Communications with Faith Heaton Jolley

Crisis communications is a big part of what we all do working in the conservation communication realm. Utah Department of Natural Resources Public Information officer and Outreach Section Assistant Chief Faith Heaton Jolley talked about this subject last summer at the ACI conference Lake Tahoe, and your hosts Ashley Zeme and Tim Akimoff wanted to follow up with Faith on the topic and delve a little more deeply into how crisis communications planning takes place at the Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Episode One: Exploring the socialverse with Sarah Southerland

Sarah Southerland is part of the secret sauce in the legendary social media presence of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. What you may not know is that she works with a team of amazing creatives to achieve that perfect tone and to stay atop the digital zeitgeist. In this first episode of ACI’s The Outdoor Communicators Podcast, hosts Ashley Zeme (NDOW) and Tim Akimoff (ODFW) chat with Sarah about her role as social media coordinator, the workflow involved in pulling in ideas from a bunch of creative colleagues and what we might see next in the evolution of social media and conservation communication.