Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lindsey McNeny . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lindsey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

To be honest even as a kid I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I’ve always been fascinated with nature and wanted to play outdoors. From the moment I could walk and explore I was chasing wildlife in my backyard. As I grew older and learned of all the many jobs available working with animals I started to move towards being an animal trainer but I still knew I wanted something different. After working for years with other animal organizations and zoos I knew it was time to branch off and start my own non-profit.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have been in the professional animal training industry for the last 19 years and have worked for some of the top companies in the U.S. putting on educational bird shows around the nation. My animal background began as a young girl growing up watching Sea World Shows and dreaming of being a dolphin trainer. Through my high school and college years I spent time learning to be a veterinary technician at my local veterinary office and learned all about the veterinary medicine side of things. After college I decided to pursue working with bigger animals like Lions and Tigers and Bears…oh my, at a wildlife sanctuary that took in abandoned or confiscated pets. During this internship is when my love for animal behavior and psychology came in to play. From then on my goal was to become one of the best animal trainers in the world and that is when I started working for Steve Martin’s Natural Encounters, Inc. in 2003 and traveled all over the U.S. setting up, choreographing, and performing Free-flight Bird Shows at zoos all over the U.S., such as the San Diego Zoo, Toledo, Dallas, Philadelphia, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Beardsley Zoo in Connecticut and the “Birds of the World” show at the State Fair of Texas. Not only did I have the opportunity to set up some of the most incredible shows but also had opportunities to consult at multiple zoos teaching keepers how to properly train their animals using positive reinforcement. I worked for NEI for almost 10 years, 5 of which I was a Supervisor and Head Trainer. I had so many incredible opportunities to work with many species of animals but still have the deepest love for birds and that is why my husband and I started our own company, Window to the Wild, with which we are growing into a thriving non-profit with 60 animals My role with our organization is President but we are the only two employees of our company. We provide the daily care and positive reinforcement training for our 46 birds, from Hawks to Owls, Parrots, and more. We also provide educational programs to schools, museums, Audubon Centers, and other educational facilities all around the DFW area. We play every role that runs our non-profit organization from marketing, maintenance, development, and more.

Window to the Wild’s educational programming focuses on conservation and wildlife education through live interactions with rescued wildlife. We provide these experiences so that humans will appreciate their wildlife cohabiters and become conscious of the importance of conservation and respect of animals. Our goal through our programming is to help people think about the importance of wildlife and the places we share with them.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to work with animals in some capacity. There were many times throughout my life that I thought about choosing a different path due to friends and loved ones seeing my struggle with finances and affording every day life. Also normal every day society tells you as a woman that you should be married, have kids, a big house and a normal job definitely by the age of 30. I traveled the world for my job for 11 years, wasn’t married until 33 and then moved in to a 287 sq. ft. Tiny House with my husband-why be normal!

Normal has never been for me. After getting married my husband and I decided to quit our jobs and start our own non-profit. Even after everyone told us how difficult it was to start our own business we pushed on and formed our own non-profit organization in 2014. Since then we’ve rescued 60 animals and provide educational programs all over the DFW area.

Every day since starting our company we’ve seen challenges, but we’ve overcome every obstacle thrown at us. We even got pregnant after being told by two specialists our chances were very low and had two perfect little girls.
Many women believe that you have to give up your dream job once you have a kid. My husband and I decided to incorporate our little girls in to our dream job. Everyday I throw on my backpack carrier with little Sophie Sparrow and Avery Wren on for the ride, whether cleaning and providing daily animal care or educational programs and events. I want our little girls to grow up seeing the strength woman are capable of. I want them to feel confident voicing their opinions when they feel strongly about something and know that they can do anything they put their mind to. I also want them to grow up in a world with animals, trees and nature! This is why I choose to be a voice for nature and fight to help save them.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

To give people the opportunity in our programming to meet some amazing animals up close and show them just how incredible animals are. To get people excited about the world around them and to teach them that one of the best things we can do for our planet is to notice the animals, the trees, the water and the beauty all around us. Many people become so busy with work and their lives that they don’t notice the beautiful world around them. I believe that if people noticed the world around them more they would also care more about preserving and saving it.

Doing our part to find ways to live smaller, smarter and more environmentally conscious -things like recycling, water conservation, not using rodent poison and letting wildlife control rodent populations and learning how to be good neighbors for wildlife.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.windowtothewild.org
• Instagram: Www.Instagram.com/Window_to_the_wild
• Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/Window2wild
• Twitter: Www.twitter.com/windowtothewild
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCYDYzdl4Cb06LfufZynbMVQ