Upcoming Appearances:

• Sept. 18, Florida Association of Behavior Analysis, Bonita Spring, FL, keynote speaker.
• Sept. 27, American Association of Zoo Keepers, Salt Lake City, UT, keynote speaker
• Oct. 27, Eliot Masie's Learning 2008, Orlando, FL, featured speaker.

Past Appearances:

• May 23, Association of Behavior Analysis annual convention, Chicago.
• May 16, Maine Festival of the Book, Portland.
• Feb. 19, Western Veterinary Conference, Las Vegas, featured speaker.
• Feb. 19, Western Veterinary Conference, Las Vegas, featured speaker.
• May 28, 2007 Association of Behavior Analysis annual convention, B.F. Skinner Lecturer, San Diego.
• May 22, 2007 WNCY author series, NYC.
• May 5, 2007, National Chicken Cook-off, Birmingham, AL, featured speaker.
• April 24, 2007, Association of American Zookeepers, Central Region meeting, Des Moines, featured speaker
• March 10, 2007, Women, Action & the Media conference, Cambridge, MA, panelist
• Nov 16, 2006, University of Southern Maine, American and New England Studies Lecture Series, Portland, ME
• Sept. 6, 2006, Brown Bag Lecture Series, Portland Public Library, Maine
• June 21, 2006, Writer’s Room Spring Reading, Algonquin Club, Boston, MA.

In addition to readings, I’m available to speak on the following topics:

What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love and Marriage
How I changed my life by using the principles of progressive animal training on my fellow homo sapiens. While following the students at the top school for exotic animal trainers, I expected to learn a lot. I did. I learned female baboons prefer male trainers, that parrots can break a broomstick with their beaks, that cheetahs don't have collar bones and that what works at the zoo, works at home.

The Magic of Modern Animal Training
Exotic animal training has come a long way from the lion tamer with a whip in one hand and a chair in the other. This talk covers how progressive trainers work, and how training is revolutionizing how captive animals are cared for. Zoos across the country are hiring trainers to teach their animals everything from holding still for blood draws to walking on leashes so they can get some exercise. Along the way they are finding any species can be trained. Dart frogs have been taught to jump on mini-scales. Alligators have learned to come out of muddy ponds on command. Spotted eagle rays have been trained to swim to feed stations.

Cookoffs: From the chili wars of Texas to trenches of the Pillsbury Bake-Off
Cookoffs are as American as apple pie. No other country squares off at the stove like we do. What does this uniquely American phenomenon say about us and food. This talk covers the history of cookoffs, the current lay of the land, their influence on American cooking and the dishes they have produced, such as the well-loved Tunnel of Fudge cake. I?ll also answer the question, why, in the age of foodies, espresso machines and tapas, do these contests thrive.