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

So long GROWvember, hello Enrichmas! Chris and Ari reflect on last month's emphasis on staff growth and discuss the start of Enrichmas, our annual tradition of working together to recognize the things we appreciate about the people at NEI. This leads to a greater discussion about environmental enrichment and the steps we've taken at NEI to get better at it.  Do you have a question, suggested show...

As this weird, wild year starts to come to a close, we wanted to take a moment to share some of the things that the NEI team are thankful for in 2020. Whether at work with your animals or at home with your family, we hope you're having a wonderful week!  Special shout-out to Ketsa for the track "Funky Garden" from the album "Ascendance" that plays throughout the episode. For more, check out https:...

Chris and Ari (aka "Bill") sit down between shows for a "Tales from the Trailer" episode where we discuss working with Len Austrevich, a writer and comedian from Chicago who came out to watch our shows at "that park" and to facilitate a workshop about using the skills at the basis of comedy and improv to create engaging shows and presentations. Stick around for the end of this one, it's pretty spe...

Chris is on vacation so Ari is joined by Erin Katzner, Director of Global Engagement at The Peregrine Fund and Past-President of IAATE! Get to know more about an amazing woman in our field, her thoughts on why women need to be in the room whenever decisions are being made, and her feedback on an email about the use of "sob stories" about animals during programs.  Have a question or something you'd...

Ari and Chris sit down for our 30th episode to discuss a very special time at NEI - Growvember! We give some backstory on this month-long commitment to staff growth and development, share some examples of little things that our team does to help keep each other engaged and learning, and introduce everyone to the greatest game ever: Dragon's Talon! Have feedback, a question, or a topic for a future...

Happy Spooky Season! Chris and Ari throw caution to the wind and invite the whole world to be guests on the show, and what results is nothing short of amazing! We're joined by Dr. Kat Gregory, Erik Montgomery, Marco Zeno, Kasey Richards, and Scott Trauger as we all discuss some of our favorite traditions and memories of Halloween. There's singing, laughing, and a "Macarena"-dancing Bigfoot under a...

Chris returns from the dead to chat with Ari about empathy, a topic which it turns out is a lot more complicated than you might think. It's a fun chat that touches on a lot of TEC Talk staples - communication, assuming good intentions, making connections...so many good things! Special thanks to our good friend and mentor Cassie Malina for the feedback that inspired this episode! Do you have a ques...

Chris is away, so the ladies get to play as Ari takes over as host and - by popular request! - sits down with NEI's own Ray Minchey to talk about mental health and work-life balance. This episode also features our show's first live tarot card reading - Happy Spooky Season! Do you have a question, requested guest, or suggested topic for the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris are joined by NEI Supervisor and resident Renaissance Woman Amy Fennell to talk about her background with birds, her reflections on helping us create NEI TEC from the ground up, and the secrets to building kick-butt teams that can take on any challenge. Also, stained glass and video games! Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Email us at podcast@naturale...

We made it to episode 25 - woo hoo! Ari's on special assignment, so Chris sits down with NEI Senior Trainer Lisa Haggadone to talk about her history in the field, her experiences helping us build several new shows at "the park which must not be named," and the cool stuff she does helping to lead up AAZK's Bowling for Rhinos program. Also, SUPER fun question at the end about NEI: The Movie! Have a...

Oh boy, we are all over the place in this one! After a detailed chat about the challenges of summertime lawn care in Orlando, Chris and Ari discuss our personal and professional strategies for preventing burnout in our ourselves and others, and respond to some great prompts our listeners sent in about future podcast topics (which somehow leads into an in-depth conversation about ice cream and swee...

Ari and Chris sit down to chat about the weird stuff in their office and their feelings about different COVID mask styles before a quick (but surprisingly in-depth) discussion about shaping as a tool in the training process. We also share some great feedback from listeners - you guys are the best! Do YOU have feedback for us or a topic for a future episode? Email us at podcast@naturalencounters.co...

You know what no one in the animal field talks about? People leaving it. We sit down with all-around amazing person Flannery O'Brien during her last week with NEI before moving on to a new life outside "the industry." We discuss the fear and excitement involved in making big life changes, including what happens when a new job means that you're no longer "the animal person" in everyone's lives. Hav...

After a 20-episode hiatus, NEI President and CEO Steve Martin makes his triumphant return to talk about the importance of comedy in producing fun and engaging animal shows. We chat about how comedy clubs influenced Steve's pre-NEI bird shows, share tips for how to listen to your audience while on stage, and discuss the importance of just being yourself.  Do you have a question, feedback about an e...

Chris and Ari sit six feet apart and talk about Ari's visit to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Chris' first trip to a restaurant since the beginning of the pandemic, and discuss your questions and feedback from email and Facebook!  Do YOU have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Email us at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris welcome to the show....everyone! In our first NEI "Interview Lightning Round" episode, we sit down for quick mini-interviews with Ray Minchey, Kevin O'Brien, Aaron Tapia, Scott Trauger, Katie Bello, and Corey Derryberry from our shows at "that theme park" to learn more about them, where they came from, and to get their quick answers to some of our burning questions.  Have a question...

Ari and Chris sit down to share some of the things they've learned about communication and what you can do as an individual to become a better leader, coworker, teammate, and supporter of others (spoiler: part of it involves being able to read minds).  Have a question or something you want discussed on the show? Want to be on the show? Have feedback for what we can do better? For all your podcast...

Ari and Chris chat with NEI Supervisor Tim Van Loan to talk about the unique reason why he's worked for NEI twice, his current role as the Behavior and Enrichment Manager at the Albuquerque BioPark, and how quarantine has made him an unexpected YouTube star, all in our first episode to include content in 4 different languages!  Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Ema...

Ari is back! The duo discusses quarantine updates and the importance of voting before doing a dive into our commonly used phrase "you get what you reinforce" and the implications it has for training strategies and building relationships between humans. We wrap up with a follow up to an email we got a few weeks ago about teaching a vulture to use a new enclosure - yay for follow ups!!! Have a quest...

With Ari away, the gents will play! Chris is joined by fellow NEI trainer Aaron Tapia to talk about his background in theater and how it lead to a career with animals, his love for reptiles and the right (and wrong) ways to handle snakes, and discuss the importance of finding your niche on a team. We love Aaron, and now you will too! Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the sho...

After some obligatory chat about quarantine life, Ari and Chris are joined by their friend Ash Sevilla to talk about his podcast for the website Nerd Appropriate ( http://www.nerdappropriate.com ) and how in a round about way it's responsible for the existence of this show, his time as a history teacher and current role as a community manager in the video game industry, and discuss the importance...

After some chat about quarantine life and some details on the new show NEI is about to open, Chris and Ari return to the discussion of some of their personal favorite "NEI Moments." And look at that, we actually rounded out a Top 10! Doesn't mean we can't do more in the future! Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Email us at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris are joined by their good buddy and former coworker John Scott to talk about their shared history at NEI, our memories of our first shows as presenters at "that show in Central Florida" (wink wink), John's current job with WCS as a trainer at New York Aquarium, his graduate studies on educational messaging in animal shows, and his recent article on same-sex couples in the animal world...

Enjoy this "peak behind the curtain" at NEI TEC! All our webinar and online course sessions are preceded by a short staff "meeting" to confirm details and last minute changes, test videos and online connections, and generally make sure things all set before we go "live." Please enjoy the audio of our "pre-show" meeting with Steve, Ari, Chris, and the rest of the NEI TEC mentor team from the final...

Ari and Chris are back at work, so welcome to the first episode recorded with our hosts in the same room! We discuss the non-work animals in our lives, how pet ownership and fostering has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and answer an email question about biosecurity for professional animal caretakers with  pets. Hope you like cats and dogs, because we talk about them a lot! Do you have a que...