The Wolf Connection

Wolf Tales explores the journeys of Wolf Connection's staff and volunteers explaining how they made their way to Wolf Connection and the impact that the wolves and the organization has had on their lives. Kris Espiritu is a volunteer at Wolf Connection who is also an environmental & outdoor educator where he provides experiential nature-based learning  for grades K-12. He teaches about th...

Sportscaster and the first and only female NBA scout for the Los Angeles Lakers Bonnie-Jill Laflin discusses her career, her journey to Wolf Connection and the special bond she formed with one of our pack ancestors Beau. Bonnie-Jill Laflin has cheered in both the NBA and NFL and earned 5 championships rings as an executive for Lakers. She is currently a co-host of KNBR’s “Murph and Mac” Show, rank...

Wolf Tales explores the journeys of Wolf Connection's staff and volunteers explaining how they made their way to Wolf Connection and the impact that the wolves and the organization has had on their lives. Micha Thomas is a Wolf Connection Program Lead and an Associate Marriage & Family therapist and group facilitator. She is also the founder of weREWILD, which is a research-based psycholo...

Rick McIntyre, who has been observing and studying wolves in Yellowstone National Park for over 20 years, discusses two of his books, ' The Rise of Wolf 8' and ' The Reign of Wolf 21'. He talks in detail about the life stories of two of Yellowstone's most famous alpha male wolves and other personal stories from his time in the park. In his over 40 years of work, Rick has w...

Amaroq Weiss, the Senior West Coast Wolf Advocate, discusses federal and state protections for wolves in California, Oregon and Washington. She talks about how each state is managing wolves in their area and what the future holds for wolf populations in the United States. A biologist and former attorney, Amaroq has worked on wolf issues in the northern Rockies, Alaska, the Southwest, Pacific West...

Amanda Beer and Micha Thomas are back to continue our conversation about the 'Women & Wolves' program and discuss the wolves that have influenced and impacted the program. Amanda is a licensed psychologist and educator, and at Wolf Connection® she collaborates with the wolf pack and human program team to facilitate powerful opportunities for awareness, connection, healing, and growth...

Wolf Connection's Director of Programs Amanda Beer and Wolf Connection Program Lead Micha Thomas sit down to discuss the origins of the 'Women and Wolves' program and why it's become a staple program offered through Wolf Connection. Amanda is a licensed psychologist and educator, and at Wolf Connection® she collaborates with the wolf pack and human program team to facilitate po...

Founder and Executive Director of Street Poets Inc. & Wolf Connection Board Member Chris Henrikson talks about his 23+ years of supporting youth and young adults around the Los Angeles area. He has served as a consultant and retreat facilitator for a wide range of companies and organizations including Snap Inc. and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC). Streetpoetsinc.com @christopherhenrikson @...

Vice Principal and On-site Administrator of Phoenix H.S. in Lancaster, CA, JR Chatman joins us to discuss the impact that Wolf Connection's youth programs continues to have on the students who participate in the program and how the partnership began between Wolf Connection and the Antelope Valley School District. JR Chatman has been in education over 20 years and has been a pivotal individual...

Scientist, ecologist, naturalist and educator Dr. Jim Halfpenny shares his experiences from the wolf re-introduction project in Yellowstone 25 years ago. He discusses his views and ideas on how humans, wolves and other species can coexist in North America in today's landscape. Jim Halfpenny has over 50 years of experience researching carnivores in North America and across the globe. He has wr...

CEO and Founder of Wolf Connection Teo Alfero drops by again to discuss the process of writing his first book, the wolves and humans that influenced him and the overall message he hopes you receive. 'The Wolf Connection: What Wolves Can Teach Us About Being Human' is published by Simon & Schuster and is available on Amazon and other book retailers. Wolf Connection on Amazon @alferote...

Piper and Devin join us to discuss the ongoing studies they are conducting with the youth programs at Wolf Connection, and the experiences they had while interacting with the students. Devin Larsen is President and Knowledge Curator at Ascending Edge Creative Evaluation. He is currently pursuing a Ph. D studying Evaluation & Applied Research Methods at Claremont Graduate University. Devin has...

Wolf Connection's resident wild wolf expert Leo Leckie is back! On this episode we discuss a wolf pack residing in California and two well known wolf packs that continue to thrive in Yellowstone National Park. Leo is a Lead of Program Education at Wolf Connection and is the co-creator of the Yellowstone Wolf Family Tree which includes life stories of over 1,200 wolves from Yellowstone Nationa...

CEO & Founder of Audiojack, David Tobin joins the podcast this week to discuss how Audiojack was started and the benefits it offers to students, teachers and you! He also plays a sample of the 'Wolf' Audiojack created with our very own wolves from the Wolf Connection pack (Headphones recommended).  Want to hear the full version of “Wolf”? Download the Audiojack app and if you use thi...

Renee Alfero is back! This time she drops in to talk about how guests, students and volunteers are all able to bond with the Wolf Connection pack and the lasting impact it has moving forward. Renee oversees the socialization of the rescued wolves and wolf-dogs and the general care taking training for volunteers. She collaborates with the Co-Leads of Pack Services to ensure that volunteers and staf...

Julia Huffman, Director of the award-winning documentary Medicine of the Wolf joins us for a discussion about the making of the film and the impact it has made on her life. It stars world-renowned National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg and is available to stream on Amazon Prime, Hulu & iTunes. Julia has been a proud supporter of Wolf Connection since 2014 and several other wolf and e...

Lara Wickes, Executive Producer & President of Canyon Road Films, speaks about the influence wolves have had on her throughout her life and the impact Wolf Connection has made since Lara first sponsored Wolf Connection's Wolfee in 2017. Lara Wickes is an Emmy Nominated and Promax Award Winning Producer. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, she has been immersed in television and film production...

Ana joins us to discuss her 20+ years of sound healing, Kundalini Yoga and meditation experience and how she came to partner with Wolf Connection. Ana Netanel is a Sound Healer and Kundalini Yoga Teacher who performs sound baths which is an acoustic sound healing journey using a wide variety of ancient sound healing instruments including planetary tuned gongs, crystal singing bowls,Tibetan bowls a...

Wolf Connection's resident wild wolf expert Leo Leckie joins us to talk about his decade long work in Yellowstone as a wolf tracker, guide and researcher, how he made his way to Wolf Connection and incredible stories of the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Leo is a Lead of Program Education at Wolf Connection and is the co-creator of the Yellowstone Wolf Family Tree which includes life stories of o...

Renee Alfero, Wolf Connection's Lead of Pack Behavior talks about the pack dynamics and behaviors that occur with the wolves and wolfdogs up at Wolf Connection. She also discusses what goes into a wolf rescue and the differences between captive & wild wolves and domestic dogs. Renee oversees the socialization of the rescued wolfdogs and general caretaking training for volunteers. She coll...

Amanda Beer, Wolf Connection's Director of Programs, discusses how youth and adults from around Los Angeles benefit from participating in Wolf Connection's programs. She shares her story of how she came to Wolf Connection®, and experiences that she's witnessed through her work with youth and adults during the programs. Amanda is a licensed psychologist and educator, and at Wolf Conn...

Teo Alfero, CEO and founder of Wolf Connection, discusses the organization's humble beginnings as well as some myths and stereotypes that have followed wolves in our culture for centuries. Teo is a TEDx speaker, one of the 100 Making A Difference , and a member of the Association of Transformational Leaders. He is the creator of Wolf Therapy ® and his book The Wolf Connection: What Wolves Can...

The Wolf Connection Podcast is here! With veteran pack care and media volunteers John Calfa (@calfanation) and Stephen Rivera (@srprodllc) behind the mics, they’ll dive into humans' longest evolutionary relationship partner...the WOLF! Tune in to hear them discuss Wolf Connections beginnings and the inner workings of our pack of 30+ wolves & wolf dogs. As well as Wolf Connection's hu...