Meet the Aquarium Director - June - Joe Malat, North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island

Name: Joe Malat 

Actual title: Aquarium Director

Name of your zoo or aquarium: North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

URL for your facility: www.ncaquariums.com

Number of species at your facility: 214

Your favorite critter at the facility: Any one of our three river otters

Total number of animals or fish at your facility: 2009

Number of visitors annually: 300,000

Number of employees: 38 permanent and 25 temporary

Number of volunteers: 77

Annual budget: approximately $3.2 million 

Degree(s): None, studied Physical Oceanography in college 

Experience prior to this position:
I steadily worked my way up, gathering experience and learning from those experiences while increasing my knowledge of aquariums. I was originally hired in a temporary position to help with installation of exhibits at the Virginia Marine Science Museum (now the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center). I then moved into an Exhibits Technician position at that facility. I was there almost five years, and that experience lit the fire! I was hired as the Exhibits Curator at the NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island in 1989 and was promoted into the Aquarium Director position about 2 ½ years ago. I’ve been at this Aquarium for more than 20 years.

Favorite part of your job:
I have several. I enjoy working hard to provide a very talented staff with the resources they need to do their jobs, and I have a lot of pride in the activities, programs and exhibits offered at this Aquarium. It’s a good feeling to hear positive comments from our guests, and to see and hear from visitors who return to the Aquarium year after year. And it’s not such a bad deal, at the end of the day, to see the sun set at the edge of the Croatan Sound on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

One dream wish for your facility:
Again, I have a few. In the short term, I hope we continue to have adequate funding to take care of our ongoing repair and renovation needs. I also hope I can provide opportunities for our staff to develop and grow into the future. In the long term I would like to plan and develop a major expansion that will allow us to take full advantage of the amount of property we have and our beautiful location on the water.

Family:  My family includes my wife Nell, two grown children, Asheley and Drew and three of the most wonderful grandchildren in the world, Blaize, Ella and Ethan.

Pets at home:  None.

When you retire, you plan to:  Spend a lot more time with my family, write a few more books, take more photos, play with boats and go fishing!