In September 2023 Project Dragonfly held its 14th annual Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) retreat. Attending the multi-day retreat in New York City, New York, were Dragonfly directors, faculty, and staff and AIP leads from all of the current AIP sites.  A special thanks to Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Bronx Zoo for hosting the event. 

With a very full agenda, the group discussed many topics—from old and new approaches to marketing and recruiting and new offshoots of Dragonfly’s “evolutionary tree” to process improvements and expanding the reach of new and existing resources—and had an opportunity to meet with WCS administration, including Jim Breheny, Executive Vice-President and general Director of the Bronx Zoo, Karen Tingley, Director of Education overall WCS parks, and Dr. Leigh Ann Clayton, Director of the New York Aquarium. There was also time for exploration. The group visited the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History and more.

Miami University’s AIP sites are located in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, New York, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis. AIP students earn their Miami University master’s degree through online courses taught by Miami University instructors with the excitement of internships, field study, and experiential learning in person at an AIP site. By providing invaluable community connections, expertise, and environmental leadership, AIP sites are at the heart of the AIP.