The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc.

Ari and Chris are back together and excited to be joined by Joey Golden, Curator of Animal Behavior Programs at Maryland Zoo! Chris and Joey both attended the recent ABMA and ISZAW conferences, and we wanted to bring him on to chat about the great presentations he gave about his zoo's progress towards "24/7 welfare" for all their animals. We chat about the importance of leaning on innovators, how Hal Markowitz has influenced his thinking about the importance of automation in modern animal care, the new role of Microsoft's PowerBI in collecting and interpreting pretty much every kind of data in a zoo you can think of, and why all of us should be focused on observation, interpretation, and improvement. Such a cool discussion!If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

While Chris is away at the International Symposium for Zoo Animal Welfare in Chicago, Ari is hosting solo—but she’s not alone! She’s joined by former (but also still current) NEI teammate Scott Trauger, who shares what life has been like since he made the big leap to follow his passion outside the animal field. From spreadsheets to showtunes, hear how Scott’s skills in animal care have set him up for success in school, biking, choir, and more!If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari catches us up on her time at Croc School before our hosts tackle an email asking for ideas about how to create opportunities in the professional animal care field for yourself when 1) you've moved somewhere where the immediately employment opportunities might be limited - or non-existent - or 2) you've taken a temporary break from the field and are trying to figure out how to get back in. Will Chris and Ari provide inspiring ideas and action items a person in such a position might benefit from? Listen and find out!If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari Bailey is busy doing cool reptile stuff at Croc School at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, so Chris takes the opportunity to share the audio from his presentation, "What Does It Mean to 'Prioritize Training'?" from last week's ABMA Annual Conference! He shares some antecedent and consequence conditions that he's seen great teams utilize to make animal training a more fun and more rewarding part of their regular routines, uses the word "stuff" way too much, and shows the audience some fun training videos that will totally make sense on an audio podcast!If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Chris is LIVE from Zoo Day at the 2025 ABMA Annual Conference in Galveston, Texas! Whilst wandering the grounds of our host facility, Moody Gardens, we chat with Chase Alsup from the Colorado State University Zoo, Aquarium, and Animal Shelter Management Graduate Program, Rae Simmons and Aubrey Wilson from the Moorpark College Animal Care and Training Program, Kelli Carroll and Mikayla Coble from Lake Superior Zoo, and Sierra Smith, Kiana Lucero, and Omar Luna from Tanganyika Wildlife Park about their conference highlights, the people they've met, and the talks that have impacted them. Thanks for chatting with us, Future Zoo Leaders of America (and Beyond)!If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Chris is in the editing (and possibly scrapping-and-starting-over) phase of his upcoming ABMA workshop "Your Feedback Loop: Evolving the Way We Give Feedback to Peers," so he decided to reach out to one of the smartest feedbackers around - Ari Bailey - and see how their notes compared when she was given the assignment to jot down what she considered to be the most important things she thinks about when she thinks about feedback. The feedback loop about feedback loops that results is filled with some real gems! Think we missed something important? If you have feedback for us, a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

It's consulting time! Chris is back at the Little Rock Zoo working with a team of eight trainers from around the zoo to get everyone working with people and animals they don't normally get a chance to, with the hopes that it might help them be better "training trainers" for new staff in the future! This has meant a lot of conversations about how you should decide what to do next during training sessions, and so we're rolling back out an episode from 2022 (#115, for those counting) that helps people to make that decision based on a very simple question: is your animal doing what you want? If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Chris and Ari share two microphones with their newest coworkers, Hayley Dougherty and Taylor LaTulipe! Hayley and Taylor share their immediate feelings after their first interviews, get quizzed to see how much they know about the show sections they started learning less than 2 days ago, reflect on how they felt coming out of their first interviews, and get to ask the hosts about their own progression through the company. Thank you to the team for letting us steal Hayley and Taylor in the middle of their training, and remember the words of what should be the new outro of our show: Say "HIYAH!," try not to distract guests with your moonwalking, don't hit the marabou, and press the release buttons 17 times for good measure.If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari sits down with Kimm Hunt, President of the International Animal Training Certification Board (IATCB), to dive into the IATCB certification exam—how it’s developed, maintained, and what it means for animal trainers. They also explore Kimm’s work with shelter dogs, tackling tough topics like behavioral euthanasia and the importance of understanding behavioral science to help all learners thrive.If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Chris is off at the AZA mid-year meeting, so Ari is joined by NEI Senior Trainer Josh Flagg for this episode! They dive into the challenges and joys of being the new person on a zoo team. From making new staff feel safe and welcome to knowing when (and when not) to let your "weird flag" fly, Josh and Ari explore ways to set teams up for success. They also share tips for uncovering a team’s culture even before you start. Check out this episode for valuable insights into building a positive and thriving team culture right from the start in the animal care field!If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!