Welcome to our Partner Spotlight series, where we shine a light on the passionate people behind the businesses, attractions, and organizations that make Greater Lafayette such a special place. This month, we're featuring Nikki Yoder, Public Engagement Director at Wolf Park. From working alongside wolves, foxes, and bison to educating visitors about conservation and wildlife, Nikki plays a key role in creating memorable experiences at one of the area's most unique attractions. Learn more about her journey, her love for animals, and what makes Wolf Park such a remarkable place to work and visit.
Photo by Monty Sloan
How long have you worked for this business? Nikki started in the summer of 2019 as a volunteer and was hired as staff in the summer of 2021.
What is your favorite thing about working there? Every day is different! Working at a small non-prophet means every day has variety. I often bounce between multiple environments and activities while educating the public, working with our ambassador animals and on large scale planning within a few ours time span. Wolf Park is a beautiful slice of nature to escape to from downtown. Very few people I know get to hear wolves howl while they do office work!
What drew you to this line of work? Everyone in my life has always known one day I would be working with animals in some capacity but I don't know that many of us would have thought it would be somewhere like here! Before discovering Wolf Park I was working in the community doing in-home pet care and training where I met a trainer who also worked at Wolf Park. They recognized the skill set I had and knew I had a fondness for large bovid species and invited me to volunteer helping habituate that year's bison calves and I was hooked! I was also able to quickly get looped in with the park's wolves and foxes and I haven't left since!
Tell us about yourself? I've lived in IN most of my life. Originally I'm from the Ft. Wayne area and I'm a PU graduate from the Animal Sciences department. I've worked in a variety of domestic animal roles prior to my time at Wolf Park. Our little family consist of myself, my partner Matt, Studio Manager at Evil Genius Tattoo Club downtown, and our two cats Truffula and Duncan.
Photo by Monty Sloan
What is something that may surprise people about your job? Most things surprise folks about by job! The question they usually start with is "There are wolves I can see up close in Indiana??" After that the biggest response I get tends to be surprise at the ability we have to work directly with our ambassador animals and at how strong of a bond we're able to form with them as individuals.
Is there a project you have worked on or done that you are most proud of? One of the larger scale projects I've been excited about is the possibility of a Wolf Park specialty license plate option for Indiana drivers! We're currently collecting signatures for our petition and have surpassed the base requirement by nearly 200 people. Decisions are made after April of each year and we're hoping to see a Wolf Park plate option for 2028 after then next round of selections!
Any future plans you’d like to share about the business? Wolf Park is bringing back seminars this year! Historically we've hosted incredible world-renowned individuals for seminars offered for industry professionals as well as the public but we've had to put many of these on hold since the pandemic hit in 2020. We've very excited to host Dr. Clive Wynne & Dr. Sasha Protopopova this September as well as Chirag Patel this October!
Do you have a favorite local spot (besides where you work) to visit in town? Could be an attraction, restaurant, festival, activity, etc. Von's will forever be my favorite local gem! I could easily spend an entire day (and my entire wallet) there every time I visit. My favorites of their collections are their incredible rocks and crystals as well as their extensive new and used books selections!
Any upcoming events that we should know about? Wolf Park's annual Picnic with the Pack event in July -"Join us for some summer fun! Watch our resident animal ambassadors dig into a picnic meal while enjoying food trucks, music, and exciting conservation crafts - all gift wrapped with a fun filled Howl Night program!" Also, in the fall enjoy Wolf Park's annual Pumpkin Party, Fall Festival week, and Howl-o-Ween Howl Night.