Staff Spotlight

DACC Staff Spotlight: Emily Cunningham, Columbus Zoo & Aquarium School

This is Emily Cunningham’s 9th year teaching at DACC. Before DACC, she taught "traditional" high school (Biology and Environmental Science) for 9 years in Chicago. She also has experience in field research in areas including Ohio, California, and even other countries like Guatemala and Madagascar. Most of her field research has involved surveys of insect species in those areas.

Emily loves when students make connections between the "real world" and the classroom. “Students will send me a link to some article they read because it relates to something we just talked about in class, or they'll mention how they saw the same behavior of one of our zoo animals on a nature show they watched. And now they can understand what they read/watch and even pass on that knowledge to others!”

Emily is married and has 3 children: a daughter in 9th grade, a son in 6th grade, and another daughter in 1st grade. Her family has 2 cats and a bunny.

When not teaching, Emily loves traveling, hiking and camping, and being outdoors. She also enjoys crafts and collecting insect art.

Favorite quote: "There is no Planet B." – Mike Berners-Lee