Meet the Instructors

Suzanne Smith

instructor Bio

Suzanne Smith, Stranding & Rescue Coordinator, Louisiana Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Rescue Program (LMMSTRP), Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Suzanne started working with marine mammals in 1986 at the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA rescuing and rehabilitating seal pups in the Northeast region of the United States.After receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, she moved to the Southeast to work with dolphins, sea lions and birds. Since then, Suzanne has worked at various zoos and aquariums around the country working with marine mammals and exotic animals, training staff and creating new programs. She worked as a training supervisor for a facility in Lima, Peru that acquired two dolphins to start an interactive program. LMMSTRP is a program that Suzanne helped start in 2000, when she first worked for Audubon Nature Institute as the senior trainer with sea lions. After Hurricane Katrina, Suzanne was asked to work with the U.S. Navy’s marine mammal program in San Diego training dolphins and sea lions. When her current position became available, Suzanne knew she wanted to be located in Louisiana to help rescue the marine mammals and sea turtles of the Gulf coast who have been struggling over the past few years.