Jeff Bunker

Directly before joining the PDZA staff, Jeff was working for UPS while getting his degree in Business Management from Western Governors University. He was putting in 12 to 14-hour days and got to the point where he just needed a change. He started applying for part-time jobs, stumbled across the commissary job posting and applied on a whim and officially joined our staff in September of 2017. But what does the commissary job entail?

The commissary position is essential to the function of all the zoological departments at Point Defiance. Put simply, Jeff is the, “finder, receiver, and deliverer of things”. It’s his job to search out and source specific items for the zoological departments and to manage the zoo’s vendor relationships. He spends a lot of time attempting to increase quality and service while reducing costs, so the job isn’t without its struggles. According to Jeff, “change is the only constant,” which makes it difficult to have a stable supply chain. In addition, he has had to grapple with updating system developed for a1990s era supply network to the present day. That said, there are some fantastic parts of the job as well. Jeff has met some fantastic, passionate people and enjoys learning more about himself, the animals, and people every day. He loves being able to work with all the different animal departments and has a special place in his heart for the polar bears Blizzard and Boris, as well as Chinook the sea lion and Pilai the wrinkled hornbill.

The commissary position is essential to the function of all the zoological departments at Point Defiance. Put simply, Jeff is the, “finder, receiver, and deliverer of things”. It’s his job to search out and source specific items for the zoological departments and to manage the zoo’s vendor relationships. He spends a lot of time attempting to increase quality and service while reducing costs, so the job isn’t without its struggles. According to Jeff, “change is the only constant,” which makes it difficult to have a stable supply chain. In addition, he has had to grapple with updating system developed for a1990s era supply network to the present day. That said, there are some fantastic parts of the job as well. Jeff has met some fantastic, passionate people and enjoys learning more about himself, the animals, and people every day. He loves being able to work with all the different animal departments and has a special place in his heart for the polar bears Blizzard and Boris, as well as Chinook the sea lion and Pilai the wrinkled hornbill.

When he isn’t working, Jeff and his wife Erica, spend their time working on their saltwater home aquarium, spending time with their dogs Milton and Dexter, and hiking and camping in the Pacific Northwest. One of his favorite spots is in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in California. Located a little over an hour south of Monterey, the park is right on the California coast and has two lonely campsites on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Both Jeff and Erica also enjoy traveling further afield. When they tied the knot in July of 2017 they traveled to Hong Kong and Bali on their honeymoon. They also enjoy using friends’ weddings as an excuse to travel and visit zoos and aquariums, they’ve visited eight zoos this year alone! Jeff travelled outside the US extensively while with the USFS, but he’s also had the opportunity to travel for pleasure. He’s been to Bali, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Europe, and several countries in South America. He particularly enjoyed Vietnam and Hong Kong for their amazing food, the kindness of the people, and how they interact with animals and nature. In the future they’d love to travel back to South America and Eastern Europe - especially to Poland, Bosnia, and Serbia for some of that “old world charm”!

Jeff has done a lot of cool things over the course of his life, but he’s particularly proud of getting his degree. Jeff graduated with his BS in Business Management in July of this year and started his Master of Business Administration this September, also through Western Governors University. If all goes as planned, he’ll graduate with his MBA early in September of 2019! Going forward, Jeff wants to continue his involvement with Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium and generally just continue being awesome! He’s a hardworking, dedicated member of the Point Defiance family and we’re excited to call him this month’s Zoo Star! Point Defiance AAZK will make a small donation to Conservation NW in support of sage grouse conservation in Jeff’s name in lieu of a gift card.