The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. – Details, episodes & analysis

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. Kait walks us through the six sources of influence, the importance of opinion leaders, the vital role of deliberate practice, why its good to have a suitcase of interventions when troubleshooting behavior challenges, and why you shouldn't "avoid the chainsaw." 

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!

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, and modern advancements in butterfly telemetry, before partnering with Ari to tell the most epic entomological tale ever: the story of "The Bee."

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!

After wayyyyy too much time of talking about making it happen, Chris and Ari finally sit down to chat with the legendary Ken Ramirez! Ken shares his inspiring and unique journey through the animal training field—from his early passion for guide dogs, to his long career in marine mammal training, all the way up to his current role leading up Karen Pryor Clicker Training. He also discusses how teaching a Masters Course led to writing his renowned book, Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement. Ken's journey highlights how taking advantage of unexpected opportunities can create a lifetime of teaching and learning.

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!

For the last episode of 2022 we're featuring...everyone! The staff of NEI share some of their highlights of the year as we stare down the barrel of 2023. Thanks for listening, and here's to another great year!

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris get a second sit-down with Bearizona Wildlife Park's "Grand Poo-Pah" Dave O'Connell! Dave "returves" to the show to talk about what he and the other staff at BZ do to create high functioning teams: encouraging people to be themselves when they're being interviewed, training humans like they're animals, making time for fun, leaning on the strengths of others, being happy in "crusty situations," and simply letting people fit in. 

Do you have a secret to creating great teams that you want to share? A question you'd like us to answer? An offer to come hang out with us as a guest on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

After a quick review of the 2022 NEI Holiday Party, Chris and Ari chat about the importance of specificity when praising and recognizing others, the line between social niceities and behavor strengthening, and the problems with the statement "just let me know if there's anything I can do to help." 

To learn more about the upcoming IAATE talk on Raptor Center Culture, please visit http://www.iaate.org.

Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Please let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris go face to face via "Internet tubes" to talk about keto ketchup, Frank Lloyd Wright, birds that aren't Harris hawks, the 2022 ZAA Annual Conference, and NEI's Professional Contemporary Bird of Prey Training and Management Workshop. 

Helpful Links:

• NEI Training Workshops: https://naturalencounters.com/workshops/
• ZAA: https://zaa.org/
• GRAZE Monthly Virtual Support Group: https://zoomentalhealthsupport.com/support-services/
• ABMA presents "ABC's: Animal Behavior Chats" for December 8, 2022: https://buff.ly/3utQObH

Welcome to Workshop Week, Bird of Prey Style! Chris sits down for a quick chat with fellow workshop instructors Adam Triska, Dan Blair, and Amy Fennell to talk about the history of NEI's Professional Contemporary Bird of Prey Training and Management Workshop, to reflect on Amy and Dan's experience of being a part of every BOP workshop to date, to talk to Adam about being a first-time workshop team lead, and to share as a team the things we're most looking forward to for this week. Wish us all luck! 

Do you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? By all means, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

Happy Turkey Day in the USA! Ari sits down for some mom-talk with Danielle Poirier Larson, Curator of Birds & Training at Southwick's Zoo! Ari and Danielle chat about the challenges of being a mom and a manager in the animal field, the ever-popular concept of work/life balance, and the importance of setting (flexible) boundaries!

Do you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode, or a desire to be a guest on the show? Drop us a line and let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

It's Contemporary Animal Training and Management Workshop Week at the Ranch, so Chris sits down to chat with one of our attendees, livestock guardian dog (LGD) trainer Cindy Benson! Cindy talks about how her work raising miniature donkeys led her to becoming a KPA certified trainer, the similarities between her work raising and training LGDs and the practices of other animals trainers across the industry, the priviledge of being able to teach others as a "big fish that found its pond," and the cool stuff we've been learning from our animals at the workshop this week!

To learn more about Cindy's work raising Maremma Sheepdogs and training LGDs, check out https://www.bensonmaremmas.com/. 

Visit Amazon to learn more about Cindy's book, Livestock Guardian Dog Training Manual: Applying the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Foundations Course to Training Livestock Guardian Dogs.