Chair: |
To provide diverse opportunities to elephant professionals, EMA has developed a program that will provide elephant keepers the opportunity to expand their knowledge and husbandry experience. This program has been designed to enable elephant keepers to work at other institutions to familiarize themselves with different management styles. Participants should expect to spend three to five days at the host facility. Click here for full program guidelines.
EMA has selected facilities with different management styles to maximize the potential for enhancing participants' expertise. Currently participating host institutions are:
- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (Asian)
- Houston Zoo (Asian)
- White Oak Conservation (Asian)
- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (African)
- ABQ BioPark (Asian)
- Saint Louis Zoo (Asian)
- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (African)
To participate in the program, please complete the application form and submit to chamlin@cabq.gov. Participants are responsible for all accommodation, including hotel, meals, and travel. Two $500 scholarships are available annually to assist with travel costs.
Applicant Criteria:
- Due to the professional nature of this program, it is only available to Professional or Affiliate level EMA members.
- Participating keepers must have their institution's authorization to participate and the home institution must agree to pay their wages for the duration of their participation in the program. Further, all participants must be covered by their workman's compensation program and will provide documentation of personal health insurance.
Scholarship Criteria:
- Complete and submit the professional development scholarship application.
- Scholarship recipients must write an article for the Journal of the Elephant Managers Association on their experience with the program and the knowledge they gained from the host institution.
Read about one of our former Elephant Care Specialist Exchange Program Scholarship Winner’s experience:
Alena McGuire, Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden Lead Animal Caretaker- Elephants/Rhinos
Exchange OKC to ABQ!
The Elephant Care Specialist Exchange Program that EMA offers was an invaluable opportunity for me. As someone who has only been in the field for a few years, I was really interested in visiting other elephant facilities and learning more about the nuance of how other programs operate. While my home facility at OKC does offer professional development funding, those resources are limited and divided among keepers on our team. I applied to EMA’s Elephant Care Specialist Exchange Program Scholarship, and the money that I received allowed me to spend several days with the ABQ BioPark elephant team. This experience provided an in-depth look at their daily husbandry practices and allowed me to work alongside and build relationships with each team member. By the end of my three-day visit, I felt I had developed meaningful connections, gained insight into each of their elephants, and developed a strong understanding of their daily routines. The funding provided by EMA served as an excellent foundation for this trip - I was able to drive to ABQ and the funds covered my lodging, leaving my home facility responsible for only meals and gas.
Without this program, I would not have had the opportunity to visit- an experience that has become a cornerstone of my professional growth and comfortability within the elephant community. This Elephant Care Specialist Exchange Program gives EMA members, like me, an opportunity fostered meaningful networking and strengthened connections to other keepers and the elephant community as a whole. It also encourages members to explore other opportunities through EMA. This program plays a vital role in bringing keepers together to share knowledge, experiences, and resources, ultimately strengthening our field. It’s a perfect program to support the future of the elephant community.
