Loading

Oakland Zoo Proudly Supports ABMA 2012 Conference

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Friday, May 4, 2012

Contact: Nicky Mora, Senior Manager, Marketing/PR
(510) 632-9525 ext. 130
nmora@oaklandzoo.org

Margaret Rousser
1^st Vice President, ABMA
Zoological Manager, Children’s Zoo and Primates
(510) 632-9525 ext. 289
margaret@oaklandzoo.org

Oakland Zoo Proudly Supports ABMA 2012 Conference

Oakland, CA, May 4, 2012 he Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) is holding their 2012 conference in the San Francisco Bay Area on May 6-11, 2012. Oakland Zoo proudly supports the not-for-profit corporation with a membership comprised of animal care professionals and other individuals interested in enhancing animal care through training and enrichment.

ABMA’s membership is comprised of professionals from all over the world and represents a wide variety of species, from mammals to birds to reptiles and even invertebrates. “The annual conference is an opportunity to get this diverse group together, from as far away as the Czech Republic, Austria, England, and Australia and share new ideas about using positive reinforcement training and environmental enrichment to enhance the husbandry and welfare of the animals in our care,” said Margaret Rousser, Zoological Manager at Oakland Zoo.

The conference will feature speakers such as Dr. Hal Markowitz, enrichment pioneer and author of Behavioral Enrichment in the Zoo and Dr. David Shepherdson, editor of the ground breaking book, Second Nature. Elizabeth Abram, Andrea Dougall, and Gina Kinzley, zookeepers at Oakland Zoo, will also present papers on Oakland Zoo’s unique goat training program, innovative otter training, and the Zoo’s progressive elephant observation programs. In addition, several other zookeepers from Oakland Zoo will present posters on the Zoo’s enrichment program.

On Thursday, May 10, Oakland Zoo will host Jennifer Jolly for a media workshop at the ABMA conference. Jennifer is an Emmy award-winning television correspondent with nearly 20-years of broadcast experience and literally thousands of hours of live TV hosting and producing. In just the past few months, her work has appeared on/in, CNN, HLN, CBS This Morning, Health Magazine, ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, Rachel Ray, and The Talk. She also has a nationally syndicated column and video series on consumer lifestyle technology.

2012 ABMA Conference Schedule at a glance

Sunday, May 6th
5:30pm - 9:00pm	Ice Breaker at San Francisco Zoo
Monday, May 7th San Francisco Airport Marriott Registration: 7:30am - 8:30am
8:30am-9am	Welcome
9:00am - 10:00am	Keynote Speaker: Hal Markowitz, PhD
10:00am - 10:40am	Book signing for Markowitz
BREAK
11:00am - 12:30pm	Presentations
1:30pm - 2:30pm	Seminar: Guide Dogs for the Blind, Michele Pouliot
2:30pm - 3:30pm	Presentations
4:00pm - 5:30pm	Training 101: Susan Friedman
Tuesday, May 8th
Visit CuriOdyssey and California Academy of Sciences
Wednesday, May 9th
San Francisco Airport Marriott
8:00am - 10:10am	Presentations
10:30am - 12pm	Enrichment workshop
1:00pm - 2:30pm	Presentations
3:00pm - 4:30pm	Safety in Training Workshop
Thursday, May 10th
Oakland Zoo
9:00am - 10:30am	Social media workshop
10:30am - 12:00pm	Enrichment workshop practical application
10:30am - 12:00pm	Behind the scenes tours
12:00pm - 2:00pm	Lunch and BMF Olympics
2:00pm - 4:30pm	Behind the scenes tours and training demos
5:00pm - 7:00pm	Dinner and poster presentations
Friday, May 11th
San Francisco Airport Marriott
8:00am - 10:00am	Presentations
10:30am - 12:00pm	Presentations
1:00pm - 1:45pm	Enrichment workshop wrap up
1:45pm - 3:00pm	Presentations
3:30pm - 5:00pm	Presentations
6:30pm - 11:00pm	Awards Banquet

ABOUT OAKLAND ZOO:

The Bay Area's award-winning Oakland Zoo is home to more than 660 native and exotic animals. The Zoo offers many educational programs and kid's activities perfect for science field trips, family day trips and exciting birthday parties. Nestled in the Oakland Hills, in 500-acre Knowland Park, the Zoo is located at 9777 Golf Links Road, off Highway 580. The East Bay Zoological Society (Oakland Zoo) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization supported in part by members, contributions, the City of Oakland and the East Bay Regional Parks. For more information please visit our website at www.oaklandzoo.org.
###

ABOUT ABMA:

The Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) is a not for profit group of international animal professionals sharing knowledge about positive methods of animal handling, training and enrichment to enhance the welfare of animals. At the heart of ABMA’s core values are that learning is always occurring and that animals and people should be able to learn in a nurturing and non-threatening environment. We believe that all behavior is modifiable, and that responsible behavior management creates a continuous flow of innovative options for successful animal care. For more information about the ABMA, please see our website www.theabma.org.