Stephanie Meneses is dedicated. Not only is she the supervisor who will happily run through a customer service scenario and passionately mentor staff, but she’s also the friend who will make a detailed food map to accompany your travels and the kind of person who sets out to read 50 books in a year.
An Academy veteran, Stephanie first joined the Guest Experiences (GE) team shortly after the new building opened in fall 2008. Still a student at Cal State East Bay, Stephanie worked part time as a service associate and volunteered in the aquarium, all while pursuing her studies in biology.
“Growing up, I had a kind of daydream of working with animals,” recalls Stephanie. “Through my volunteer work I supported a biologist, helping them with special projects, cleaning life support systems, feeding animals, and even got to go collect purple sea urchins.” While she remembers the time fondly, she says it gave her the invaluable insight that her dream of working with animals might not be her ideal reality, and helped her see other ways to work in the sciences and with animals.
Over the years, Stephanie has worked almost every GE position, and has readily grasped onto opportunities to grow and evolve. Mentorship has been a huge part of her trajectory, and last year she took on recruiting and onboarding for all of GE. “It felt like a natural progression working into leadership,” says Stephanie, who lists mentorship as one of the most rewarding aspects of her job. “I ultimately want to give the same opportunities to my staff that were given to me. I'm not sure I'd be where I am without my peers or managers who believed in me and my skills.”
These days Stephanie leads a team of about a dozen people and supports the smooth functioning of the entire GE team. On any given day you’ll find Stephanie on the public floor supporting her staff wherever needed, whether that’s sharing important institutional updates or helping resolve a guest issue. While some colleagues have transferred to work in other departments, Stephanie stays rooted to GE for a simple but poignant reason: the people. “It all comes down to our people. I’ve met some really great people in my time here, I’ve made some great friends and connections along the way, and now getting into more of a mentorship role with staff it’s really rewarding to encourage people to develop and grow their careers.”
Born in San Francisco, Stephanie spent her childhood in Long Island and returned to her hometown some years later for college. “When I hang out with friends from New York they say that I’m very chill, I talk a little slower, and I noticed that I started waiting at crosswalks, which I never used to do in New York!”
One of the ways she connects to our city by the Bay? Food. “I learned that while I’m not passionate about cooking, I am passionate about eating. I am that person who will take a bus or Uber across town to eat the one thing I’m craving.” A recent quest that was worth her time? “I traveled to North Beach for cheese fries at Buster’s. The cheese is a little spicy and has a kick to it. Very worth it.”
So if you see Stephanie around, say hello and ask her what’s good in food and books!