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

Chris once again ambushes Ari with a surprise topic for discussion, thanks to a great email we received: now that the definition of "enrichment for animals" has evolved, what might "modern, goal-based enrichment" look like for the humans we work alongside in the professional animal care field? We chat about the staff-driven professional development offerings that happen during...

Ari and Chris steal a bit of time out of a busy day to chat with NEI's Steve Martin to follow up on last week's episode and talk about the practical, observable, and trainable behaviors that we see great trainers do. Focusing both on skills people can build in themselves and help build in others, the trio talks about meeting people where they're at, the importance of having a solid pla...

With Chris busy being immersed in our Immersion Workshop, Ari is joined once more by Adam Geltz (Senior Trainer, Natural Encounters, Inc.) to discuss a listener email asking us to share some thoughts about cultivating great animal trainers. They start by talking about setting up strong antecedents to foster a safe environment for learning, move on to building training skills through offering and a...

Chris and Ari sit down with Ramon Castillo, who Ari first connected with through NEI’s work with Bearizona Wildlife Park—when he reached out to chat about reptile training! They discuss his time at Bearizona, his transition to The St. Augustine Alligator Farm, and how he’s working to make animal programs more accessible in both English and Spanish. Tune in for insights on breaking barriers and cre...

With Ari out conferencing in Tennessee, Chris is joined by fellow NEI'er Adam Geltz to talk about their takeaways from Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babbin. They chat about the importance of recognizing when your ego gets in the way of making decisions that are best for the team, how vulnerability and delegation build trust and influence, why you hav...

With Chris busy teaching at NEI's Professional Contemporary Animal Training and Management Workshop, Ari gets some coworker support and is joined by special co-host Adam Geltz and returning guest Shay Gruman! The three talk about how they've each been working on their personal and professional growth outside of NEI, reflecting on how breaking goals into smaller parts can help increase one's rate o...

Chris is joined by fellow podcaster and all around amazing Kiwi, Ryan Cartlidge, founder of Animal Training Academy! Ryan chats about how a desire for better work-life balance led to exploring non-zoo jobs beyond consulting, how a friend with a recording studio led to ATA's first online course, why it's important for people in the field to "keep their swords sharp," the joy of working with happine...

HAPPY 250TH EPISODE, TEC TALK! To celebrate this fun landmark, Ari and Chris are joined by four amazing people who've had a huge impact on us and our field: Ken Ramirez (Karen Pryor Clicker Training), Steve Martin (Natural Encounters, Inc.), Susan Friedman (Behavior Works), and Tim Sullivan (Brookfield Zoo Chicago)! Our guests talk about how they all met each other (spoiler alert: everyone was...

Ya'll know the drill by now: you send us an email, you get invited to be on the podcast, and as a result we get to hang out with Katy Kocisko (not Kocinko, Chris), orangutan caretaker at The Center for Great Apes! Katy shares how a school field trip lead to her first internship and full time job at Bearizona Wildlife Park (where she first met the NEI crew when we were consulting there), how a life...

Boy oh boy, did life decide to life all over us today! Today we had a fun recording planned with the amazing Dr Susan Friedman, founder of Behavior Works... and then a surprise USDA inspection stole Ari away from us and threw everything into a tizzy! Chris did get a bit of time to chat with Susan, and though we decided to push our planned recording down the calendar to later in the year, I did get...

Ari and Chris are back together to talk about everyone's favorite topic in the professional animal care world: dealing with the grief following the loss of an animal in your care. We share some great advice from others, some old attitudes that we think aren't helpful , and some excellent resources to help all of us deal with the worst part of our jobs. Also, stick around for the end, where we shar...

With Chris channeling the year our show was born by being knocked out by COVID, Ari takes the helm for the first podcast episode of the year to chat about all the new webinar, online course, and workshop offerings that NEI has on the books for 2025. Come hang out with us, it'll be a blast! 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 suggesti...

Ari and Chris are excited to be joined by former NEI'er, secret payroll lover, and reluctant extrovert Lacey Zeno, Curator of Ambassador Animals at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium! Lacey talks about the path that took her from dog training and vet school prep to being Ari's roommate in Dallas (thanks, Amy Robinson!), achieving her goals of working with free-flight birds and elephants, the ins an...

Thanks to the magic of technology, Chris is joined from the other side of planet Earth by Emma Pearce, Carnivore Keeper and Animal Training Coordinator at Hamilton Zoo in New Zealand! Emma shares her journey through the animal care field in Australasia (including a brief detour into biosecurity), what it's like to be an "animal training committee of one," offers feedback about what it's like to be...

We're excited to be joined by one of Chris' earliest mentors in the professional animal care world, Stu Levine! Stu crushes decades of amazing experiences into less than an hour to talk about being a part of the original "Florida NEI" team that moved Steve and the company from its former home base of Minnesota, the joy of eating lunch with a baboon every day, his history as a keeper, coordinator,...

Coming back to the show for his first full-episode guest spot, Ari and Chris welcome Jon Rossi to the show! Jon talks about how his world shutting down in 2020 led to the creation of the Rossifari Podcast, his adventures getting to meet the various members of the NEI crew, how a silly joke gone too far got NEI's Amy Fennell killed (spoiler alert: she's alive and part of this episode), the series o...

We are excited for the triumphant return of one of our favorite people (and earlier podcast guests), Megan Geddes! Megan catches us up on her post-NEI life in Australia (where she's currently a Senior Trainer at Taronga Zoo), reminisces about preparing the perfect outfit for her NEI phone interview, quizzes us on our knowledge of Aussie slang, discusses the importance of confidence and bravery, an...

Ari and Chris are excited for the return of Kait Wiktor, Manager of Animal Behavior and Wellbeing at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium! Kait joins us to talk about her recent adventures through all things "Crucial": the resources and certification programs from  Crucial Learning , the organization behind our favorite professional (and personal) development resource,  Crucial Conversations . Ka...

A biologist? At Disney?? That's right, it's the return of Morgan Belle, Conservation Programs Manager with Disney's Animals, Science, and Environment! After a brief recap of her history in the field, Morgan chats about life as "everyone's 'bug lady'", the (somewhat controversial) difference between bugs and insects, how improv classes were the scariest and most transformative thing she's ever done...

Ari and Chris are joined by one of their favorite Brits, Shaping Behaviour founder Nicky Plaskitt! Nicky chats with us about her path from zookeeper to zoo training consultant, the importance of not being risk-averse, the unexpected academic audiences that her company has connected her too, the importance of establishing and maintaining an online following, why trainers should avoid perfection and...

Ari and Chris are joined by one of their absolute favorite people in the field, Elly Neumann! Elly chats with us about the journey that brought her to her current role as Coordinator of Welfare, Training, and Enrichment at Jerusalem Zoo, the wide spectrum of where animals institutions are at globally in the development of their behavior management programs, the evolutions of how we share knowledge...

Ari and Chris are joined by one of their favorite members of the NEI Expanded Universe: Sidney Campbell, Senior Trainer & Educator at Cascades Raptor Center! Sidney details the path that took her from San Diego elephants to Alaskan raptors, how her interest in non-profits was the perfect partner to working in raptor rehab, the unique way that animal trainers are skilled at taking care of each...

Here's one we've been excited to do for awhile: Ari and Chris are joined by Cheyenne Mountain Zoo President & CEO Bob Chastain and NEI President & CEO Steve Martin to talk about the history of the relationship between the two organizations! We chat about "Bob's side of the story" for CMZ tales Steve's been telling us for years, how the stage was set for sweeping training and culture change...

Despite cell phone signals doing their best to keep us apart, Chris AND Ari are joined for the return of Greg Peccie, Riverbanks Zoo and Garden's Director of Animal Care and Welfare! Greg returns to the show to help us dig deeper into the many angles of professional development: developing a shared language for what those two words mean, how "quiet quitting" fits into an industry that requires con...

Because we thought it might be fun to talk about animals for a change on our animal training podcast, Ari and Chris are joined by Brookfield Zoo Chicago's Tim Sullivan to talk about the history, evolution, and future of environmental enrichment! Inspired by Tim's presentation at the 2024 ABMA Conference, we discuss the shift from "throwing trash into beautiful habitats" to goal-based enrichment, h...