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Dr. Meredith Bastian

Curator, Primates

A native of DC, Dr. Meredith Bastian is the Curator of Primates at the National Zoo, where she supervises the Primate Unit, oversees the unit’s primate research, and manages animal collections including several Old World primate species, including a variety of apes, monkeys, and lemurs at the Great Ape House, Think Tank, Gibbon Ridge, and Lemur Island. She serves on the Ape Taxon Advisory Group, Orangutan and Gibbon/Siamang Species Survival Plan management teams, and is on the scientific advisory boards of the Orangutan Land Trust and PONGO Foundation of the Netherlands. Before working at the National Zoo, Meredith was the Curator of Primates and Small Mammals at the Philadelphia Zoo. Before this, Meredith spent over seven years conducting field research on the behavior, diet, ecology, genetics, and reproduction of wild orangutans in Central and Western Indonesian Borneo. Before establishing and directing her own wild orangutan field site and managing two others, Meredith studied wild white-handed gibbons in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, Coquerel’s sifaka at the Duke Lemur Center, and rhesus macaques at the National Institutes of Health Animal Center. Meredith has a B.A. in Anthropology and Psychology from Bryn Mawr College and a Ph.D in Biological Anthropology & Anatomy from Duke University.

 

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Lauren Augustine

Keeper, Reptile Discovery Center

Lauren Augustine is a herpetology keeper at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in the Reptile Discovery Center and a Masters student at George Mason University. Her passion for reptiles and amphibians led her to University of North Carolina Asheville where she received her undergraduate degree in ecology and environmental biology. In 2006 she accepted a position with the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore working with Panamanian golden frogs, Atelopus zeteki, on Project Golden Frog and in 2008 she accepted a job in the herpetology department at the Bronx Zoo. At this time Lauren began pursuing her Masters degree and in 2011 she accepted a position with the Smithsonian National Zoological Park and began her Masters degree at George Mason University.

Her research interests include reptile cognition, reptile and amphibian nutrition, and population management. Some of her research projects include analyzing mitochondrial DNA of three closely related Asian box turtle species to inferred relatedness, examining eastern hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, larvae nutritional parameters and studying the effects of macro and micro nutrients on the prevalence of spindly leg syndrome in golden mantilla, Mantella aurantiaca. She is currently working on her Masters research studying oocyte bound sperm in Cuban crocodile, Crocodylus rhombifer, eggs. This technique has never been use with crocodilians before and will contribute valuable insight into crocodilian captive management.

 

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Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Herrelko

Assistant Curator, Animal Wellness and Research

Dr. Betsy Herrelko is the Assistant Curator, Animal Wellness and Research at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. As a behavioral scientist, Betsy’s interests focus on the pursuit of advancing animal welfare science with an emphasis on animal management and how animals think. She started her tenure at NZP as the David Bohnett Cognitive Research Fellow studying primate cognition (cognitive bias, a measure of emotional affect) in zoo-housed apes and husbandry and welfare topics with various species around the zoo.

Prior to the National Zoo, Betsy was an Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and a PhD Student at the University of Stirling (Scotland), she studied the lives of the chimpanzees at RZSS’ Edinburgh Zoo. Her research explored four topics while assessing the development of a cognitive research program and large-scale introductions in zoo-housed chimpanzees: welfare, cognition, public engagement with science, and animal management. The project’s use of touchscreen technology and on-exhibit research was the first of its kind for the UK and was the focus of the BBC Natural World documentary, The Chimpcam Project (2010). Her work on introductions has been highlighted in the BBC documentary Origins of Us (2011) and she has contributed to the Discovery Channel’s World’s Scariest Animal Attacks (2012) film as a primate expert presenting a behavioral point of view.

Before moving to the UK, Betsy started her zoo career in the USA. During her undergraduate years she volunteered within the education department at the Bronx Zoo (New York), earned her Master’s degree in animal behavior and conservation from Hunter College, CUNY (New York), and worked at the Gorilla Foundation (California) in animal management, research, and facility operations.

 

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Leigh Pitsko

Assistant Curator, Great Cats

Leigh Pitsko is the Assistant Curator for Great Cats, Andean bears, and the Kids’ Farm.  She received her Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Science and her Master’s degree in Geography at Virginia Tech.  She started her zoo career at the Brevard Zoo and has been at the National Zoo for ten years.

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Denny Charlton

Animal Keeper, Amazonia

Denny has been employed as an animal keeper at the Smithsonian National Zoo for over eight years and currently works with fish and amphibians in the Amazonia exhibit.  He has specialized in the field of exotic animal husbandry for a total of 20 years and his experiences range from training chickens to caring for the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros.  Denny has managed the Greater Kudu Species Survival Plan (SSP) and studbook program for six years and is an active member of both the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and American Association of Zookeepers.

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Chelsea Grubb

Animal Keeper, American Trail

Chelsea Grubb has been a zookeeper for 11 years. For the last five years, she has worked at the National Zoo on American Trail. She has worked with all different kinds of animals throughout her career including elephants, pinnipeds, free flight bird shows, domestics, and small mammals. She is the Chair of the Zoo’s Enrichment and Training Committee, serves on the Zoo’s animal welfare committee, and coordinates the zookeeper internship program for American Trail.

 

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Dr. Jennifer Kisbaugh

Judy and John W. McCarter, Jr. Global Health Veterinary Intern, Smithsonian’s Global Health Program

Dr. Jennifer Kishbaugh is the Judy and John W. McCarter, Jr. Global Health Veterinary Intern with the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program. Dr. Kishbaugh is a graduate of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, where she worked in field conservation research with Leatherback sea turtles and African wildlife, including rhinoceros, giraffe, crocodile, and numerous antelope species. She went on to complete her clinical training at Cornell and an internship at a specialty clinic on Long Island. Most recently, Dr. Kishbaugh worked in small animal emergency medicine, assisting New York State wildlife rehabilitation groups.

 

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Jordana Todd

Bird House Keeper

Jordana has been working in the animal care industry for 6 years and has been with Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park Bird house for almost 2 years. Jordana has had the opportunity to work with a variety of animals but her passion is birds. She loves my job as an Animal Keeper as it allows her to not only provide top notch care to our animals but also assist in conservation efforts to help save species all over the world.

 

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Megan Brown

University of Maryland and Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Megan Brown is a Doctoral Student at University of Maryland working with Avian Reproductive Biology focusing primarily on the Whooping Crane. Brown completed her Master’s degree at the same university and received her Bachelor’s degree from Delaware Valley College in 2010 with a degree in Zoo Science. Currently she is working at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland as a volunteer helping to raise Whooping Crane Chicks for release. Brown hopes that after completing her PhD she will continue to work in the zoo community with endangered bird species, focusing on captive management and reproduction.

 

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Stacey Tabellario

Animal Keeper, Asia Trail-Giant Pandas

Stacey Tabellario began her career as a wildlife filmmaker working for the Discovery Channel, the Jane Goodall Institute, and the Smithsonian Institution. She had the opportunity to track and observe many animals in their natural habitats as well as meet the people whose daily lives are affected by our choices in conservation. Eventually she realized that she felt most fulfilled on the days she worked closest with the animals, so she packed up the camera and used what she had learned from years of observing animals and working with world renowned scientists to become an animal keeper. She is currently an animal keeper and the chair of the enrichment and training committee at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. In addition to enrichment & training, Stacey is particularly interested in adding choice and control back into the lives of animals in human care.