Noelle Belden

Education Programs Director

Instructor - PD009 Public Speaking & Controversy of Animals in Professional Care   

Noelle earned a B.A. in Psychology from Rollins College in 2003.  During her time there, she worked as a peer tutor for psychology and writing courses.   In 2005, Noelle decided to pursue her dream of working with marine mammals and accepted a position as an Educator at SeaWorld in Orlando, FL.  

Noelle learned an incredible amount of marine science during her time at SeaWorld and also gained valuable experience in public speaking and animal interpretation.   She narrated to large and varied audiences about many different marine animals; from polar bears to penguins and everything in between!  Noelle also became an animal ambassador at SeaWorld and even conducted penguin interaction programs with guests.  

In 2008, Noelle followed her heart to Dolphin Research Center and the Florida Keys.  She began as an Education Program Host; a job similar to her experience at SeaWorld.  Within a year, she began to coordinate our DolphinLab courses and also became a dolphin handler.  Today, Noelle is the Education Programs Director at DRC.  She is responsible for training new educators in the art of animal interpretation and public speaking.   Noelle is also the lead instructor for the public speaking course/lab for Dolphin Research Center Training Institute.