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

In our continuing quest to collect the entire AZA Professional Development Committee on the show, we're excited to be joined by Jennifer Charette, Zoo Community Impact Manager at Tessere! Jen shares her unique path from birthday party host to zoo industry professional, the importance of committee service and understanding your "resource engine", how defining her "horizon job" got her to where she is today, why everyone should have an IDP, and why we should probably all let people lean into what they're good at instead of having to fit inside a box. 

Also, make sure to stick around until the end to find out the answer to the question: "so....why 'hedgehog'?"

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!

With Ari away having some extended Labor Day Weekend fun with family, Chris is joined by NEI's Samm Griffin! We chat about the path through the animal care field that brought Samm to NEI (take note, aspiring future animal care professionals), the importance of - and the advantages of working for - smaller zoological institutions, and how the support of her early NEI mentors kept her from spreading her wings and taking off after her seasonal stint with the company. 

And speaking of Labor Day: through the power of magic AND technololgy, we're also joined by Sean, Hunter, Johneli, Anthony, Skyler, Shay, Emily, Meg, and Laurel from our Roger Williams Park Zoo and Minnesota Zoo shows on their final day of 2024 road shows! Congrats teams, you folks are amazing!!!

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!

You know what they say: you send Chris and Ari an email, you end up on the podcast. We're super happy to welcome Jeremiah Shon from John Ball Zoo to the show! Jeremiah is a recent NEI workshop attendee who reached out to share some cool training stuff that he and his team have been doing with their birds recently, so we brought him on the show to talk about how they put together their "group training program," the process of getting buy-in from people at all levels, the importance of seeing ourselves as scientists, and the value of recognizing when an idea you created doesn't belong to you anymore.    

Shout outs in this episode: Amy Fennell, Erin Moloney, Katelyn Ferringer, and Scott Trauger. Ya'll rock!

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!

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Ari and Chris are joined by one of our most frequently-requested guests: former professor and co-department chair of the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College, Gary Wilson! Gary talks about his path towards becoming a student - and later a faculty member - of the program, his history with (and the EATM program's connection to) the Navy's marine mammal training program, and how the EATM program fits into today's professional animal care field. We're calling this episode "Part 1", because we're definitely going to get Gary back soon to expand on some of the stuff we got to - and hopefully dive into a lot that we didn't! 

To see some of Gary's photography on Instagram, check out @garygwhiz. 

If you have any questions for Gary - or about anything you'd like us to discuss on a future episode of the show - let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris are tired (but otherwise great!) as they share how NEI and their birds fared during Hurricane Ian, and discuss everything that transpired to get our shows up and running again.

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

It would take an act of God to keep us from bringing you a show every week.

And then one happened, and still we were like, "nah, we got this." 

It's moving day for our shows at THAT theme park as Hurricane Ian has forced us to cancel our normally scheduled programming. First, Chris uses his early-morning drive to work to share the team's plan for the day. Second, Ari uses her drive back home from work to talk about how the bird move went. Finally, our intrepid Ride Out Crew of Katelyn, Grace, Aaron, and TJ share a little of bit about their experience so far being "hunkered down" at work until all this blows over. A truly epic podcast 16 hours in the making!!!

We hope everyone in Florida is staying safe and sane during this scary time, and we'll see you all on the other side!

Have a question, topic, or severe weather event tale you'd like us to talk about on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Greetings from Across the Pond! Chris does a solo-cast from the UK to talk about the great work the team back home has done in getting our birds back home from a temporary show shutdown, to detail the timeline of what he and his wife have been up to driving back and forth between Scotland and England, to give details on his experience of having the opportunity to visit Queen Elizabeth II as she was lying-in-state, and to tease some potential fun things for future episodes. 

Have a question, query, comment, or concern about the show? We're open to all of it at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

It's an "L-Squared Takeover" as Lucy and Lisa take over the podcast! Will they share insightful thoughts about our field? Share what they've got for lunch today? Sow the seeds of sedition and plan a permanent takeover of the podcast?? Listen and find out!

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to tackle on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris use two fully-functioning microphones to answer the following questions from our staff: what are you most proud of that you've accomplished in your career so far, and what are your bigger goals and ambitions in the field? It's no surprise that there's some overlap and parallels in our responses but it does give us a great opportunity to stroll down memory lane and look a bit into the crystal ball of the future. 

We would LOVE it if people wanted to write in to share the accomplishments that they are most proud of - it's something we don't get to talk about enough! If you want to share, please do so at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

One computer. Two mics. Two people. One office. 

Ari and Chris share physical space once more to talk about the subject of venting, and how to do it without ruining your career and your reputation. Big thanks to the "As We Work" podcast from the Wall Street Journal for inspiring this episode! 

Do YOU need someone to vent to? We're all ears at podcast@naturalencounters.com!