Amy Schilz
Contemporary Animal Training
Amy Schilz is a Senior Animal Behaviorist at the Giraffe Center for Conservation & Care.
When standing in front of a giraffe training partner, Amy is acutely aware of how lucky she is to have been surrounded by such amazing people and animals throughout her life. Her path into this career field was forged at a young age; she started interning at The Milwaukee County Zoo in high school. From there, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and earned a B.S. in both Wildlife Management and Biology, and minored in Captive Biology.
Since that time, she's soaked up every opportunity to learn more about animals and how best to try to save them. She's dabbled in field research, veterinary nursing, and zookeeping. While exploring all of the options of where she could best focus her time and energy to make a difference, she discovered the science of behavior change! It has changed how she's worked with animals throughout the years, and she's currently really focused on how to best train with a dialogue style of learning. She enjoys coaching training sessions, running giraffe workshops, and continuing to learn from others through consulting opportunities provided by Behavior Works.
Bob Chastain
Leadership
Bob Chastain is the President & CEO of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
"Four goals drove me and continue to drive me. 1) develop a culture where after a person leaves they would say it was the best place they ever worked. It is worded that way because I realized people don’t always know what they have until it is gone. 2) While at Cheyenne Mountain, they would use their discretionary energy for the mission. 3) In my mind, every animal deserved the best home possible. Because of that we did not stop building new homes for over 20 years straight. We wanted every exhibit and animal to be set up for success. This would have been impossible without a basic understanding of principles like antecedent arrangement, the negative side effects of punishment, reinforcement vs reward, and the now famous bridge and curse. This list grew and grew in complexity and understanding for over 15 years. You too can understand all of these principles with a skilled guide to help you see how animal behavior and people behavior are just behavior.
Jill Fernandez
Enrichment
Jill Fernandez is an Animal Welfare Scientist.
"I’m a scientist and consultant in the applied field of animal welfare. I aim to empower people to shape a better world for the animals under their care and for animals in the wild. I work with zoos, aquariums, farms, and animal facilities around the world to establish science-based animal welfare improvement programs. My consulting approach is participatory and builds on caregivers’ knowledge, with the goal of turning all animal caregivers into animal welfare scientists by equipping them with the understanding, tools, and confidence to make evidence-based decisions that improve animals’ lives.”
Steve Martin
Enrichment
Steve Martin is the President & CEO of Natural Encounters Inc.
Megan Sanders
Behavioral Skill Training
Megan Sanders has a Masters Degree in Applied Behavior Science.
Bianca Papadopolous
Animal Training
Bianca has always had a passion for animals, and it was her dream from a young age to become an animal trainer. Bianca started her career in 2005 working with elephants and seals at Melbourne Zoo, Australia. Since then, Bianca has worked with a wide range of different species across all taxa at several facilities in Australia and has spent time volunteering at various marine parks and zoos in the US. In 2011, Bianca returned to Melbourne Zoo working with primates including gorillas, orangutans and gibbons. In 2017 Bianca was appointed as the inaugural Animal Training Coordinator at the zoo, where she manages the animal training programs for all species and helps coach and upskill the keepers in this space. The programs are designed to allow the animals the opportunity to be active participants in their own health care and improve their welfare. In 2015, she was successful in acquiring an international fellowship through the International Specialised Skills Institute to investigate world leading animal training applications and programs in a zoo setting. Through the fellowship she was able to attend animal training workshops, courses and conferences worldwide. During the fellowship, it directed her down the path of the science of behaviour change. Bianca works hard on continuing her learning journey and disseminating her learnings to help build skills to not only her direct colleagues but also to the broader zoo community in the Australasian region.
Kiki Yablon
Assessments
Kiki Yablon, MA, KPA Faculty, CPDT-KA, is a Chicago-based dog trainer and teacher with a master’s degree in applied behavior analysis. In addition to consulting with private clients both locally and online, she coaches other professionals as Karen Pryor Academy faculty, a coinstructor for BehaviorWorks, and a well-regarded conference speaker. Kiki is a former newspaper and magazine editor and shares her insights about the practical application of behavior analysis on her blog at kikiyablondogtraining.com