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PODCAST

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

Natural Encounters, Inc.

Join co-hosts Chris and Ari for a discussion of animal training, behavior, human-animal relationships, and all things NEI-TEC (the Natural Encounters Inc Training and Education Center), and featuring guests from the NEI team and around the professional animal care world! Email us at podcast@naturalencounters.com if you have a question or something you"d like us to discuss on the show!

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All Episodes

00:51:44

Episode 300: Follow Your Bliss (with everyone,...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/08/28

In this super secret, extra special bonus episode (actually episode 281, but Chris needed a good round number to end on), Ari rallied as many of Chris’s colleagues, friends, and family as she could, with help from his wife Bethany, to share messages of congrats on his new role as Executive Director of the Virginia Zoo, and a little about how he’s impacted their lives and careers.It’s impossible to capture how much Chris means to all of us, but hopefully this episode offers a glimpse into the immense

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00:51:19

Episode 280: Thank You All For Everything (featuring...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/08/28

This is it, the last official episode of the NEI TEC Talk Podcast (at least for now)! With Chris headed off to his new position as Executive Director of the Virginia Zoo, he and Ari decided it was time to sunset the NEI TEC Talk Podcast. After nearly 300 episodes, countless incredible guests, and so many conversations about training, enrichment, and connection, they're wrapping things up. We have so many people to thank who supported the podcast over the years, especially you, the listeners

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00:31:06

Episode 279: Big Changes in TEC Land (with Dr Grey...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/08/21

Some announcements are so big that you have to bring in another podcast to help make them. Chris and Ari join Dr Grey Stafford on his incredible show, Zoo Logic, to talk about some big personal changes and what they will mean for our show. We want to thank each and every listener who's been with us since we started this thing in 2020, and hope you enjoy the penultimate episode of the TEC Talk Podcast! If you have anything you'd like to share with us about your experience with our show,

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00:40:37

Episode 278: Kids These Days Say The Darndest Things...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/08/15

Ari sits down with NEI's own Michael Van Horne this week to chat about what it's like being a young person in the field. Michael talks about his time at college and his philosophy to help him focus on his own growth while supporting his teammates. He also helps Ari with some Gen Alpha slang and they wrap it all up with the latest NEI team building craze - Marble Olympics!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

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00:50:47

Episode 277: All Animals Can Speak, We Just Need to...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/08/07

Ari and Chris are joined by their first guest who's had David Attenborough attend their graduation (at least as far as we know): Sarah Bonser-Blake, Animal Welfare Field Manager with Wild Welfare! Sarah shares the journey she's taken from getting paid to point at whales to her current role making real change in people that makes change for animals, the joys of managing a resource base, her history of collaboration and taking risks (even when her body rejected the idea), and the importance of

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00:51:50

Episode 276: The Art and Science of Outcome-Based...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/07/31

Ari and Chris continue their journey of collecting more amazing people from around the professional animal care world to add to the "NEEU" (Natural Encounters Expanded Universe), and are pleased to be joined by Jessica Sheftel, Applied Wildlife Welfare Manager at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance! Jessica shares her path from collecting behavior data at Zoo Atlanta to her current role overseeing a welfare program, gives us a peak into being on a team at the forefront of the shift from an input- to an

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00:47:14

Episode 275: Fly-Aways, Swim-Offs, and Reboots (with...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/07/24

Ari and Chris are absolutely chuffed to be joined by two amazing gentlemen from South Africa, Ryne Ferguson and Ayrton King, co-hosts of the rebooted Animal Talk Podcast! Ryne talks about his long history with NEI, how our podcast inspired him to start his own, and how the idea to reboot the show with a new aquarist cohost came about after a 5 year hiatus. Ryne and Ayrton chat about the importance of getting people connected to animals and to each other, how podcasting is like getting to have a

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01:01:58

Episode 274: Let's Hope They All Talk About This Over...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/07/17

With Chris out of commission after being a pressure washing hero at work and mayyyyybe overdoing it a bit, Ari takes the helm and is joined by Dan Carvalho, Lydia Dresel, Jordan Garella, Steven Sibley, and Luis Cortes from the Reptile Department of the St Augustine Alligator Farm! The team talks about their amazing dynamics and inside jokes, and the hard work they pull off every day for their animals and guests. From talking about raiding croc nests and hatching out babies, to how much they all

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00:38:52

Episode 273: I Guess I'm Gonna Do Fish Stuff (with...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/07/10

You KNOW we love talking about training animals that people don't always think of when they think about animal training, so we are thrilled to welcome Melissa Paynter to the show! Mel shares the path that took her from the Moorpark Program to her current role as Assistant Curator of Ocean Journey at Georgia Aquarium, why fish training right now is "a dumpster fire, in the best way," how her desire to make sure the aquarium side of the field gets a seat at the table lead to her current

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00:43:57

Episode 272: If You Want Them To Care, They First...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/07/03

Chris and Ari are thrilled to be joined on the show by NEI Alumnus Dan Blair! Dan catches us up on his current zoo role as Curator of Birds, and shares his thoughts on the two kinds of respect, what's surprised him most about transitioning from the role of animal trainer to curator, the unique challenge of being brought in as a new cog in an existing machine, the importance of being given a chance to lead in order to learn how to take responsibility, the crucial role of clarifying expectations,

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00:53:40

Episode 271: Happy Jamón Day! (with the Bird and...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/06/26

Are SEVEN people too many to have on a podcast?? Not when it's the Bird and Mammal Team from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm! Chris and Ari are joined by Hannah Caster, Jessie Stull, Jordan Hoover, Ramon Castillo, and Shelby McBride to talk about what makes up a cohesive team, the unsung role of the swing keeper, and figuring out the best ways to give feedback to others before succeeding beautifully at an impromptu game of Dragon's Talon! Such a fun conversation with a wonderful group of

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00:45:22

Episode 270: The Portal, The Tube, and The Assisted...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/06/19

Chris and Ari are joined by fellow training enthusiast Anaka Nazareth, Behavioral Husbandry Coordinator at the National Aquarium! Anaka shares the path that took her from America to Austria (a few times) before settling back on the East Coast and eventually into her current role in Baltimore, where she oversees the training of a lot of our favorite (and less celebrated) animals - sharks, fish, and reptiles - as well as her involvement as a Committee Member, Board Member, and eventually President of

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00:41:05

Episode 269: The "Ponies, Sparkles, and Rainbows"...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/06/12

Chris is joined by NEI's new (but also not really new) Director of Staff Development, Training, and Shows - Ari Bailey - to welcomes Dr Taylor Gilley back to the show! Taylor shares the path that took her from the education world to her current role as Director of Staff Learning and Development at Houston Zoo, and guides us through a great conversation covering the zoo's LIFT (Leadership, Innovation, Focus, and Teamwork) program, the thousand forms of fear that drive humans, the importance

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00:38:37

Episode 268: A Podcast About A Podcast (Radical...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/06/05

In another in our series of podcasts about other podcasts, Ari and Chris share their thoughts on a recent episode of the Radical Candor podcast with Kim Scott, featuring their guest Stephanie Chung. Chris recently started reading her book "Ally Leadership: How to Lead People Who Are Not Like You," which gets a great overview in the podcast, and gives us a chance to talk about the importance of curiosity, professionalism, "assuming good intentions," admitting your ignorance, and

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00:50:44

Episode 267: Observe, Interpret, Improve (with Joey...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/05/29

Ari and Chris are back together and excited to be joined by Joey Golden, Curator of Animal Behavior Programs at Maryland Zoo! Chris and Joey both attended the recent ABMA and ISZAW conferences, and we wanted to bring him on to chat about the great presentations he gave about his zoo's progress towards "24/7 welfare" for all their animals. We chat about the importance of leaning on innovators, how Hal Markowitz has influenced his thinking about the importance of automation in modern animal care, the

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00:32:04

Episode 266: Pursue Your Calling! (with Scott...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/05/22

While Chris is away at the International Symposium for Zoo Animal Welfare in Chicago, Ari is hosting solo—but she’s not alone! She’s joined by former (but also still current) NEI teammate Scott Trauger, who shares what life has been like since he made the big leap to follow his passion outside the animal field. From spreadsheets to showtunes, hear how Scott’s skills in animal care have set him up for success in school, biking, choir, and more!If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a

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00:43:13

Episode 265: Using Communities to Create Opportunities

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/05/15

Ari catches us up on her time at Croc School before our hosts tackle an email asking for ideas about how to create opportunities in the professional animal care field for yourself when 1) you've moved somewhere where the immediately employment opportunities might be limited - or non-existent - or 2) you've taken a temporary break from the field and are trying to figure out how to get back in. Will Chris and Ari provide inspiring ideas and action items a person in such a position might benefit from

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00:35:26

Episode 264: What Does It Mean To "Prioritize...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/05/08

Ari Bailey is busy doing cool reptile stuff at Croc School at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, so Chris takes the opportunity to share the audio from his presentation, "What Does It Mean to 'Prioritize Training'?" from last week's ABMA Annual Conference! He shares some antecedent and consequence conditions that he's seen great teams utilize to make animal training a more fun and more rewarding part of their regular routines, uses the word "stuff" way too much,

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00:44:26

Episode 263: Zen and the Art of Networking (Live from...

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/05/02

Chris is LIVE from Zoo Day at the 2025 ABMA Annual Conference in Galveston, Texas! Whilst wandering the grounds of our host facility, Moody Gardens, we chat with Chase Alsup from the Colorado State University Zoo, Aquarium, and Animal Shelter Management Graduate Program, Rae Simmons and Aubrey Wilson from the Moorpark College Animal Care and Training Program, Kelli Carroll and Mikayla Coble from Lake Superior Zoo, and Sierra Smith, Kiana Lucero, and Omar Luna from Tanganyika Wildlife Park about

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00:39:31

Episode 262: A Feedback Loop About Feedback Loops

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural... ·

2025/04/24

Chris is in the editing (and possibly scrapping-and-starting-over) phase of his upcoming ABMA workshop "Your Feedback Loop: Evolving the Way We Give Feedback to Peers," so he decided to reach out to one of the smartest feedbackers around - Ari Bailey - and see how their notes compared when she was given the assignment to jot down what she considered to be the most important things she thinks about when she thinks about feedback. The feedback loop about feedback loops that results is filled

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