Feeling Green with Disney’s Environmental Sustainability Team
Casey is no stranger to protecting our planet. As a coordinator of the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) – a philanthropic segment of The Walt Disney Company that works to save wildlife, inspire action, and protect the planet by providing grant opportunities, recognizing conservationists, and engaging diverse communities – she is responsible for managing relationships with key nonprofit organizations across the globe, as well as cast member/employee engagement efforts onsite at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Since its founding in 1995, the DCF has contributed more than $125 million to wildlife conservation efforts in over half the countries around the world, benefitting more than 1,000 unique species. Casey and her fellow team members lead this vital work for the company as part of the ongoing mission of Disney Planet Possible.
“I might start my day on a phone call with gorilla conservationists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and end it by delivering Disney Conservation Fund buttons for cast members to wear on Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail that encourage guests to ask questions about the DCF and learn more about the amazing support Disney has provided to wildlife conservation efforts around the world for nearly 30 years now,” Casey said.
Her Disney journey began in the college program in 2018 and continued with an internship on the Wilderness Explorers team at Walt Disney World Resort — also known as the conservation education presenters. Inspired to continue work in the field of conservation and corporate philanthropy after her internships, Casey joined the Corporate Environmental Sustainability team in 2019.
Some of her favorite memories include connecting with and thanking guests visiting Walt Disney World Resort who contribute to the mission of the DCF – many of whom are young conservationists in the making who choose to direct their summer lemonade stand money to the initiative, or who ask their family and friends to donate in honor of their birthday.
“Early in my role as DCF coordinator, I offered to meet a child and her family in the park to make some magic and thank them in person for their generous donation to conservation,” Casey shared. “In the five years since we’ve met, she and her family have raised nearly $3,000 to contribute to conservation through the DCF, and it’s been such a treat to watch her grow up so passionate about wildlife, excited to let me know when she’s coming back to Animal Kingdom every year to continue their support. Just recently, I was able to facilitate an opportunity for her to meet an okapi, the animal that started her passion for conservation all those years ago, and it was just the most incredible, full-circle moment to be a part of.”
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