Dan Dembiec

Dan Dembiec is the vice president of animal care operations at the National Aquarium. Dan oversees the teams who care for all living things at the National Aquarium and the Animal Care and Rescue Center. He also directs the behavioral husbandry team and dive program operations. Dan joined the National Aquarium in 2024.

Dan has more than 20 years of animal husbandry experience, caring for animals of all shapes and sizes at four different zoological institutions: Dallas Zoo, Sedgewick County Zoo, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, and the Memphis Zoo. As a professional fellow with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Dan has served on several committees that strengthen collaboration between zoo/aquarium facilities worldwide so that animals are managed sustainably and with optimal well-being.

Dan holds a master's degree in zoology with a focus on zoo and aquarium science from Michigan State University and an MBA from Jacksonville University. He obtained a bachelor's degree in biology from DePaul University.