Three questions to Maggie Howell, managing director at the Wolf Conservation Center.
1. Who are you?
My name is Maggie Howell, I am an educator and a wolf handler at the Wolf Conservation Center, an organization founded by famous French pianist Hélène Grimaud and based in Westchester, New York. I have been working there for 7 years. I will be coming to the Lycée Français on Friday, January 18th to talk to students about wolves and introduce you to a very special guest.
2. What will students learn on Friday?
During the first part of the presentation, I will talk to the audience about wolves: the myths, fairy tales, and real history. I will also talk about how essential their role in the environment is. And then, Atka will come on stage, and we will open it up to questions.
3. Who is Atka?
Atka is a 10-year-old wild Arctic gray wolf who is originally from Minnesota. He was born in captivity and has never lived in the wild. For that reason he is used to being around humans, but that doesn’t mean he is like a dog. In fact, Atka is nothing like a dog! You can’t pet him, and he doesn’t need humans in his life. Atka is socialized and leash-trained. When he is not traveling around, Atka lives in a one-acre enclosure at the Conservancy Center that is essentially like a forest with a fence around it. There are 23 other wolves at the Center like him, but Atka is the only “wolf ambassador”.
About the Author :
Elisabeth King joined the Lycée team in November 2011 as the school’s first director of communications. A francophile at heart, Elisabeth spent her junior year of college in Paris, and held her first job at the French Trade Office here in New York. She brings to the Lycée over 15 years of experience in media and communications in non-profits, government, news and business. She was previously executive vice president and director of strategy at ABI, Inc., a boutique public relations agency, and she worked as associate editor on two books co-authored by Todd Brewster and the late ABC News anchor Peter Jennings.