This time last year, I penned an article for Black History Month centered on the past, experiences and legacies that Black staffers at the Tennessee Aquarium wanted to leave for future generations of team members who look like them.
A year later, I’m honored to share even more of our staff’s reflections on the paths that led them to the Tennessee Aquarium, their proudest contributions during their time here and the legacy they hope to leave behind for future Black team members.
That's me, getting ready to cover a Lake Sturgeon release down by the Tennessee River.
My name is Tyson Jones, and I am the Communications and Marketing Administrative Assistant at the Tennessee Aquarium. Since coming to the Aquarium in 2021, I have been privileged to work with an amazing group of individuals, many of whom don’t look like me and many who do. I hope that, after reading this year’s responses, you will come away with just as much appreciation as I have for how far we’ve come as a community, a culture and a people.
De’Ronda Hubbard — Visitor Services Manager
Who is a person, or what is an experience that helped shape your career path? Who or what inspired you to get involved in the field that made you want to work at the Tennessee Aquarium?
My grandmother (Mrs. Louise Hubbard) is the person who inspired me from a young age because I saw how devoted and persistent she was when it came to helping others. She taught me how to have patience and perseverance and the importance of enjoying what you do! As I became an adult, I knew what customer service consisted of, but I did not fully grasp the level of customer service I was capable of providing until I started my journey at the Tennessee Aquarium.
What is an experience or event that you can personally take pride in during your time at the Aquarium? What is something that left a mark on you and made a lasting memory for you?
There have been multiple guest experiences throughout the years that I have witnessed working within the Visitor Services Department, but the two kinds of interactions that always leave a mark or memorable impressions on me are:
1. The families that are so excited to tell their generational visits. These families are always so overwhelmed with joy when telling their stories of how they visited as a child. Now, as adults, they can share the same experiences with their children.
2. I take so much pride in the challenging interactions with our guests. It’s easy to heighten a guest’s experience when they’re already pleased. For me, it’s the interactions where I have to dig deeper in order to address the dissatisfaction that prompts a negative experience and turn that into a positive exchange because then I have changed the narrative. I also grow because it’s a learning tool for me, and they walk away with a better perspective on how their experience ended.
What kind of legacy would you like to leave for Black people who may follow your career path? How would you best like to be remembered, and what kind of lessons would you like to pass on?
I’m still so appreciative of the “now” and the accomplishments and goals that I have set for myself. I started at the Tennessee Aquarium 25 years ago as a Visitor Services seasonal and held six positions within the same department.
If there was anything I would want to share with anyone in the African American community, I would say to “lead by example,” be willing to be taught, accept constructive criticism and then make it your own. Those are pieces of armor that you need in order to push yourself to the next level.
On a personal level, my grandmother passed a year ago, but she instilled so many great attributes within me early in my stages of life, and now that I have three young and impressionable granddaughters, I hope to inspire them so that once I’m no longer here, they can reflect on those teaching moments just as I have — that’s my legacy.
De'Ronda with her granddaughters
Charles Hayslett — Business Analyst
Who is a person, or what is an experience that helped shape your career path? Who or what inspired you to get involved in the field that made you want to work at the Tennessee Aquarium?
As a teen, I was a student in a tae kwon do class that was sponsored by an AME (African Methodist Episcopal) church in my neighborhood as an outreach and recruitment tool. The sensei was an former Marine and the assistant pastor of the church. He was assisted by one of the deacons. They took a heavy interest in mentoring the youth.
The deacon took a few of us on a trip to Dallas, Texas, to visit his cousin and her husband. I’m not the most materialistic person in the world, but their house was AMAZING! So much so that I had to ask what they did for a living. I was told the cousin was an electrical engineer, and the husband was a computer engineer. He gave me my first book on coding using C (an object-oriented programming language). It was at that moment that I knew what I wanted my career to be.
I got my start at the Tennessee Aquarium by applying for a job in the Environmental Learning Lab. In that position, I maintained a computer lab and an environmental library and helped care for a small collection of animals.
Over the span of nine years, I worked in the Education department as an ELL Associate, a Lead ELL Associate, a Senior ELL Associate and eventually as an Educator. As an Educator, I taught classes based on conservation, science and biology and managed our Distance Learning (video conferencing) program.
Due to my efforts during my tenure in that role, the Aquarium was awarded by the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration in 2008. That was also the year that I started work in the IT department (then known as MIS) as the User Services Coordinator. In 2015, my duties changed, and I became an IT Business Analyst.
What is an experience or event that you can personally take pride in during your time at the Aquarium? What is something that left a mark on you and made a lasting memory for you?
Outside of developing a system for purchase orders, expense reports and check requests that was used by the accounting department for a decade, one of my fondest memories took place on a weekend visit to the Aquarium with a couple of friends and their kids.
We were in the Delta Swamp exhibit when I started telling them some facts about the animals in that exhibit and continued to do so as we approached the Gulf of Mexico exhibit, which is now our River Giants exhibit.
It was at that point I noticed I had a following of almost 20 people behind me, hanging on my every word and eager to learn more! The funniest part is that the friends who were with me only knew me as an IT guy and had no idea of my educational background. Their minds were blown.
What kind of legacy would you like to leave for Black people who may follow your career path? How would you best like to be remembered, and what kind of lessons would you like to pass on?
On a personal and professional level, I’d like to be remembered as an extremely helpful, willing and smart guy whose efforts improved the capability of those around me to do their best to inspire and educate those around them.
I’d like to encourage Black people who are interested in a career in technology, or any other field, that with hard work, determination and perseverance, the sky is the limit. I’ve been the only person of color in so many situations, and I’ve always taken that opportunity to shine and positively represent my people.
Mara-Lynne Payne — Director of Inclusion, Equity & Diversity
Who is a person, or what is an experience that helped shape your career path? Who or what inspired you to get involved in the field that made you want to work at the Tennessee Aquarium?
My family, former coaches and high school teachers helped shape my career path through the advice they gave me.
I’ve always enjoyed learning new things and was taught at an early age that education and knowledge can never be taken from you. My mother always told me, “I can be whatever I want to be… it’s my choice.” Playing sports introduced me to healthy competition, gave me confidence and the courage to step out of my comfort zone and taught me the importance of teamwork.
I was introduced to the Tennessee Aquarium in 1991 by George Conley, the Aquarium’s first African American membership manager and Darleene Cole, the department’s associate at that time. George’s excitement about the Aquarium and ability to share its story with the community inspired our newly created Membership team.
One of my earliest responsibilities was coordinating our Speaker’s Bureau. We built excitement for the Aquarium by giving talks and presentations to community groups about the Aquarium’s mission, exhibits, animals and programs. With three African American staffers in such important, public-facing roles, I knew this would be a very special place that I was excited to be a part of.
What is an experience or event that you can personally take pride in during your time at the Aquarium? What is something that left a mark on you and made a lasting memory for you?
I have always been especially proud of our original Charter Membership campaign and opening festivities, which were very successful and so much fun! The connections we made with the community were amazing. It was the momentum for everything we’ve been able to accomplish since then, not only as an organization but also for my career path.
Most recently, I’m incredibly proud of the Aquarium’s commitment to inclusion, accessibility and diversity. I’m honored to lead this important work to ensure that the Tennessee Aquarium is a place for everyone.
What kind of legacy would you like to leave for Black people who may follow your career path? How would you best like to be remembered, and what kind of lessons would you like to pass on?
I would like to be remembered as someone who can engage with diverse groups and individuals, who is supportive, who shows sincere interest and respect for others and who will do what I can to uplift others. Also, I want to be remembered as someone who will always give her best effort no matter how difficult or challenging things may be.
I would like our current and future employees to know that there might be times when you may be the only person of color in the department, meeting or on a project, but your knowledge, skills and abilities are just as unique and valuable as those of your colleagues. You belong in whatever professional space you’re in. Know your strengths, learn new things, be authentic and make an impact.
Networking and making connections are key. It is important to have a trusted support system. Be curious and show sincere interest in others’ work or their interests (most people don’t mind sharing information). Set personal goals, and don’t lose sight of them. Don’t give up when things are challenging; someone is waiting for you at the finish line. Most importantly, enjoy what you do and have fun with it! It’s not just about work.
