Our Animal Care and Exhibits Team
Making Atlantis Marine World a comfortable home for the creatures that live here – and a welcoming place for the thousands of people who visit us yearly – takes tremendous behind-the-scenes effort from many dedicated employees and volunteers. We would like to introduce you to some of the people who play a direct role in taking care of our animals and exhibits.
Joseph Yaiullo, Curator/Co-Founder
Christopher Paparo, Senior Aquarist
Todd Gardner, Aquarist
Ann Yaiullo, Director, Training Department
Candy Paparo, Senior Marine Mammal Trainer
Katrina Zawacki, Marine Mammal Trainer
Valerie Ruggeri, Apprentice Marine Mammal Trainer
Eli J. Fishman, Exhibits Manager
Joseph Yaiullo
Curator/Co-Founder
Joseph Yaiullo is one of the world’s most highly regarded Aquarium authorities. He has consulted with many public Aquariums worldwide, and has also presented reef-keeping lectures throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Prior to co-founding Atlantis Marine World, Yaiullo worked with the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, and served as Exhibits Director at the Okeanos Ocean Research Foundation. While working as a Senior Aquarist with the New York Aquarium, he played an integral role in the design and construction of the 22,000-square foot Discovery Cove building, winner of the 1990 American Zoo and Aquarium Association Certificate of Achievement award.
Yaiullo is a graduate of Southampton College, Long Island University (Southampton, NY).
Christopher Paparo
Senior Aquarist
Christopher Paparo has been working at Atlantis Marine World since construction first began in late spring of 1999. Formerly an Educator with the Okeanos Ocean Research Foundation and an Education Coordinator/Stranding Technician with the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, he supervises the care and maintenance of many Atlantis Marine World exhibits and animals, including the Lost City of Atlantis Shark Exhibit, Indoor Ray Bay, Sand Shark Lagoon, Local Rocky Shores, the Seahorse Display, Poseidon’s Treasure Room, and Crustaceans. He also assists with the Aquarium’s aquaculture program.
Paparo is a consultant to the Sport Fishing Education Center and Aquaculture Facility, and serves on the Marine and Coastal District of New York Conservation, Education, and Research Board. He is also Director and Scholarship Chairperson of LIBBA (Long Island Beach Buggy Association).
A photographer with a strong interest in aquatic subjects, Paparo took many of the photographs appearing on this site, giving viewers a chance to see the Aquarium through his eyes.
Paparo is a graduate of Long Island University’s Southampton College (Southampton, NY).
Todd Gardner
Aquarist
Todd Gardner has been studying marine life since he was old enough to walk. He has an extensive background in marine sciences and has written numerous scientific and popular articles about his research and experiences collecting, keeping, and culturing marine organisms.
In 1993, he graduated from East Stroudsburg University with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and marine science. After graduation, he spent a year working for Blue Earth Films, assisting in the production of a National Geographic Explorer feature film about coastal marine life. Todd spent the next three years working at the world's largest marine ornamental fish hatchery, where he worked on developing technology for the production of new marine species. In 1998, Todd left commercial aquaculture to pursue a Master of Science degree in biology at New York's Hofstra University, where he completed a thesis on the early nutrition of the lined seahorse, Hippocampus erectus.
Todd is currently working as an Aquarist at Atlantis Marine World, where he cares for a number of exhibit tanks, leads collecting expeditions, and continues his aquaculture research behind the scenes, supervising the Aquarium’s aquaculture program. In his spare time, Todd photographs marine life and plays in a blues band.
Ann Yaiullo
Director, Training Department
Ann Yaiullo began her career with animals as a dog obedience trainer, giving classes and lectures and eventually starting her own business, "Who's the Boss" Dog Training. She then traveled to Moorpark, California to acquire a degree in Exotic Animal Training and Management, working daily at an animal compound with over 150 different species, including her first California sea lion. After Moorpark, she launched her career as a Marine Mammal Trainer at the New York Aquarium, working with California sea lions, harbor and gray seals, bottlenose dolphins, beluga whales, and a Pacific walrus.
Yaiullo joined the staff of Atlantis Marine World when harbor seals Max and Cecil, the Aquarium's first two Marine Mammals, arrived in the summer of 2000. Today, she and the rest of the mammal staff at Atlantis Marine World have the privilege of training and caring not only for Max and Cecil, but also for Buoy, a female harbor seal; Gray Beauty, a rescued, blind gray seal; and Java and Bunker, two young California sea lions. Also under the mammal staff’s care are three Japanese snow monkeys, and assorted reptiles.
Yaiullo has a BS in Biology from St John's University (Jamaica, NY).
Candy Paparo
Senior Marine Mammal Trainer
Candy Paparo has been a full-time Marine Mammal Trainer at Atlantis Marine World since 2000, and began working with the Aquarium as a Naturalist aboard the Atlantis Explorer Tour Boat. She is the primary trainer for Gray Beauty and Max, two of Atlantis Marine World’s harbor seals, and trains all three sea lions. She is also responsible for maintenance and water quality of the Aquarium’s marine mammal pools.
Prior to joining Atlantis Marine World, Paparo was the Education and Intern Coordinator at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium/Northeast Fisheries Science Center. She has a BS in Environmental Science from Southampton College, Long Island University (Southampton, NY).
Katrina Zawacki
Marine Mammal Trainer
Katrina Zawacki has been a Marine Mammal Trainer at Atlantis Marine World since 2005. She has also worked in a variety of capacities – including Biologist, Observer/Data Recorder, and Volunteer Coordinator – with the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation. Additionally, she has served as an Ecologist responsible for preparing environmental impact statements for various government agencies, and worked as a Research Assistant at Brookhaven National Laboratories. A Certified Dog Obedience Instructor and Certified PADI open-water SCUBA diver, Zawacki has a BS in Psychology/Biology from Long Island University’s Southampton College (Southampton, NY).
Valerie Ruggeri
Apprentice Marine Mammal Trainer
Valerie Ruggeri has recently joined the team at Atlantis Marine World. As an Apprentice Marine Mammal Trainer, her responsibilities include the Sea Lion shows, seal training sessions, Japanese snow monkey care, and reptile care.
Prior to joining Atlantis Marine World, Ruggeri interned at both Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration in Connecticut and at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Washington. A PADI scuba diver, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychobiology from Long Island University’s Southampton College (Southampton, NY).
Eli J. Fishman
Exhibits Manager
Eli J. Fishman began working with Atlantis Marine World as an outside contractor during construction, and was asked to join the Aquarium one year later. As Exhibits Manager, he is responsible for designing, building, and rehabilitating all Atlantis Marine World exhibits.
Prior to joining Atlantis Marine World, Fishman was a member of the in-house Exhibits Department at the Bronx Zoo, working on the Congo Exhibit. He also served as Senior Exhibits Designer at Roger Williams Park Zoo (Providence, RI). A designer and builder of waterfalls and artificial rock displays in his spare time, Fishman has a BA in Environmental Science/Conservation Biology from Marlboro College (Marlboro, VT).
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