We have a lot of information to share over a short period of time, so we want to make the week as efficient as possible, while still encouraging what's at the heart and soul of the ZACC Conference - networking, discussion and most importantly, ways to take action and make a difference for our world. And be sure to stay until the very end. We don't want to you miss out on the post conference trips!
All session are held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Jacksonville.
This year we've changed things up just a tiny bit - more breaks for networking and connecting with others, and more panels to encourage thought-provoking discussion and opportunities to ask the tough questions.
Please be advised the schedule is subject to change.
All session are held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Jacksonville.
This year we've changed things up just a tiny bit - more breaks for networking and connecting with others, and more panels to encourage thought-provoking discussion and opportunities to ask the tough questions.
Please be advised the schedule is subject to change.
Monday, January 22, 2018
Pre-conference Workshops
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7:30 a.m.
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Conference Check-in begins and coffee & tea served
Outside Conference Room B, Third Floor of Hyatt Hotel Check in will continue until 6 p.m. |
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8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
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Behavior Change: Moving Beyond Awareness and into Action From poaching and habitat destruction to consumption and climate change, human behaviors are the primary driver of the conservation challenges we are experiencing across the globe. Understanding the context of human behavior and applying the principles of behavioral science to our work will be critical for achieving our conservation goals. This panel will introduce participants to some of the fundamental principles of human behavior change, highlight case studies of successful conservation-oriented behavior change programs, and identify opportunities for incorporating behavioral science into our work. (Workshop not included in Full Registration price). Workshop Coordinators: Amielle DeWan, PhD., Impact by Design, Inc. Martha Parker, Conservation Impact Manager, Houston Zoo Ellie Milano, Impact & Learning Associate, Impact by Design |
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1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
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Evaluation Guides Effective Conservation: Practical Tools to Measure Your Conservation Success and Guide Your Next Steps
No matter whether we work at a zoo, aquarium, local conservation non-profit, or international organization, we all need to measure our conservation successes to monitor our efforts and inform our next steps. In an interactive workshop, we will offer practical tools for conservationists to set outcomes and evaluate programs for success or areas of improvement. The conversation will center on collaborative and participatory avenues to evaluation to ensure conservation efforts are meeting their potential, particularly ones that engage stakeholders and practitioners in the evaluation process. Included in this session will be a discussion of effective goal setting as well as an investigation of tools that conservationists can use to reliably and efficiently perform program evaluation. The workshop will include interactive discussion and hands-on materials that will encourage all conservationists to apply evaluation to strengthen and monitor their work. Participants will leave the session with an increased confidence in their ability to plan strategic conservation projects with assessment built in from early stages of development, conduct evaluation, and a higher capacity to understand and interpret evaluation results to inform their future efforts. In this way, all zoo, aquarium, and international conservationists who attend this workshop will be equipped to better measure their impacts and share their successes with their stakeholders. (Workshop not included in Full Registration price). Workshop Coordinators: Lily Maynard, Conservation Program Manager, Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment Kathayoon Khalil, PhD., Seattle Aquarium |
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7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Icebreaker - Intuition Ale Works
Mix and mingle with all the conference attendees at a fun and exciting craft brewery located in the heart of Jacksonville! (Icebreaker included in Full Registration Price). |
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
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7:00 a.m.
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Conference Check-in begins and coffee & tea served
Outside Conference Room B, Third Floor of Hyatt Hotel Check in will continue until 5:50 p.m. |
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8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m.
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Welcome and Keynote Introduction
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8:20 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
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Keynote Presentation
Dan Ashe, President & CEO, Association of Zoos and Aquariums |
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9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.
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BREAK
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9:10 a.m. - 9:20 a.m.
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Threats to Wildlife - Addressing Illegal Wildlife Trade - Let’s Commit to Work Together, do More, and Increase our Impact
Kym Gopp, Curator of Conservation, Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo |
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9:20 a.m. - 9:40 a.m.
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Education for Nature - Vietnam: Inspiring stories from the front lines in the battle against wildlife crime
Quyen Vu, Education for Nature, Vietnam |
SESSION 1: ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS WITH A DIVERSE PORTFOLIO APPROACH TO FUNDING FIELDWORK: MODELS THAT ARE FLEXIBLE AND RESPONSIVE
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9:40 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
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Building relationships through diverse conservation support
Michele Schliten, Indianapolis Zoo |
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10:00 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.
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Columbus Zoo’s flexible and responsive approach to conservation funding
Michael Kreger, PhD., Vice President of Conservation, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium |
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10:20 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.
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C.A.R.E. Committee - Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens' approach to funding in situ conservation
Lucas Meers, Conservation Program Officer, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens |
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10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
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Wildlife Warriors: Zoo admission staff leveraging future conservation leaders
Renee Bumpus, Houston Zoo; Adrian Cavazos, Sr. Director Business Operations, Houston Zoo; Hilmar Salazar, MarAlliance; Arnaud Desbiez, Giant Armadillo Project |
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11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
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BREAK
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11:20 a.m. - 12:20 a.m.
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PANEL 1: FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION: BEHAVIOR CHANGE FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
Panelists:
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12:20 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
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LUNCH (Included in registration)
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SESSION 2: CONSERVATION TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE APPROACHES
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1:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
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SMART: An Evolving Tool for Monitoring and Increasing the Effectiveness of Protected Areas and Anti-poaching Efforts
Richard Bergl, PhD., North Carolina Zoo |
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1:50 p.m. - 2:10 p.m.
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From Pixels to Decisions: Converting Satellite and Mobile Data into Meaningful Conservation Management Information
Shawn Sweeney, the Jane Goodall Institute |
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2:10 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
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Genetic Testing On-the-go: Developing Field Applications for Handheld Molecular Technology as Conservation Tools
Tracie Seimon, PhD., Wildlife Conservation Society |
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2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
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Lessons in Movement Ecology: Using Telemetry and Movebank to Study Vulture Movement
Corinne Kendall, Associate Curator of Conservation and Research, North Carolina Zoo |
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2:50 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
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BREAK & Newest Technology Demonstration
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SESSION 3: FIELD PROJECTS: WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN'T?
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3:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
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The challenges to building a successful partnership between foreign donors and Ugandan recipients from a Ugandan perspective
Emily Otali, Elizabeth Ross, Zarin Machanda, The Kibale Forest Schools' Program, Kasiisi Project |
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3:50 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.
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27 Years and counting: Partnerships and programs that helped shape the fate of rescued animals in Guatemala
Alejandro Morales, Fernando Martinez, Anna Bryant, ARCAS |
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4:10 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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Failure: It's going to happen, so just do it!
Susie Louis, Conservation Fusion |
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4:30 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.
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Break and Energizer
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4:40 p.m. - 5:50 p.m.
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PANEL 2: WOMEN IN CONSERVATION: A LOOK AT WOMEN'S ROLES IN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
Moderator: Erin Stotz, Denver Zoo Panelists:
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5:50 p.m.
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DINNER (on your own)
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WEDNESDAY, January 24, 2018
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7:00 a.m.
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Conference Check-in begins and coffee & tea served
Outside Conference Room B, Third Floor of Hyatt Hotel Check in will continue until 12:30 p.m. |
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7:30 a.m. - 7:40 a.m.
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Good Morning and Keynote Introduction
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7:40 a.m. - 8:40 a.m.
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Keynote Presentation - The One Team Approach
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8:40 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.
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BREAK
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SESSION 4: THE WATER THAT SUSTAINS US - COMBATING THREATS TO OUR WATER-BASED WILDLIFE
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8:50 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.
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Cuba/USA Collaboration: Benefits Flowing Both Ways Across the Florida Straits
Mike Terrell, The Florida Aquarium |
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9:10 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
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The Georgia Sea Turtle Center Debris Initiative: Citizen Science and Education in Marine Conservation and Research
Jeannie Martin, PhD, Georgia Sea Turtle Center |
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9:30 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
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Manta Rays in Florida: An Understudied Population of a Putative New Manta Species
Jessica Pate, Andrea Marshall, Marine Megafauna Foundation |
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9:50 a.m. - 10:10 a.m.
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Saving Florida's State Marine Mammal - The Manatee
Craig Miller, Curator of Mammals, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens |
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10:10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
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OCEARCH
Chris Fischer, Founder, OCEARCH |
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10:30 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.
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BREAK and Yoga Energizer
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10:40 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
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TIGER PLANET: Signs of Hope for Endangered Species Conservation and Financing
Steve Galster, Founder & International Director, Freeland |
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11:20 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
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PANEL 3: COMBATING ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE: WHAT ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS CAN DO
Moderator: Kym Gopp, Curator of Conservation, Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo Panelists:
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12:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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Visit to Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (with discounted lunch at Zoo, dinner included)
1:30 p.m. - Busses depart Hyatt Hotel (Snacks available on busses) 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Explore the Zoo and Behind the Scenes Tours
6:00 p.m. - Dinner served at Zoo 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Busses Leave for Hotel 9:00 p.m. - Event ends |
Thursday, January 25, 2018
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7:00 a.m.
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Conference Check-in begins and coffee & tea served
Outside Conference Room B, Third Floor of Hyatt Hotel Check in will continue until 6 p.m. |
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8:50 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
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Good Morning and Introduction to the Day
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9:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m.
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PANEL 4: CREATING CREATIVE CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES - THE EWCL MODEL
Moderator: Laura Gruber, White Oak Conservation Center, EWCL Staff, EWCL Alumna Panelists:
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10:10 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.
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BREAK
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10:20 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.
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"Empowering local and global communities to protect the endangered slow loris"
Anna Nekaris, PhD, Oxford Brookes University & Director, Little Fireface Project |
SESSION 5: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION: A HOLISTIC APPROACH
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10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
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Connecting Communities in Mongolia to Wildlife
Tungalagtuya Khuukhenduu (Tunga), Nomadic Nature Conservation |
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11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
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GRACE Center: A Future for Gorillas Built on Community
Sonya Kahlenberg, PhD, Jackson Kabuyaya Mbeke, Tammie Bettinger, PhD |
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11:20 a.m. - 11:40 a.m.
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"Cui Bono" What is Community Benefit? Lessons Learnt from three Decades of Engaging Stakeholders and Rural Communities and a New, More Holistic Approach
Dr. Gregory Rasmussen, Painted Dog Research Trust |
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11:40 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
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Moving from data to action: Sharing ownership of the research process with indigenous scientists in Guyana
Matt Hallett, University of Florida and Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens |
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12:00 p.m. - 12:20 p.m.
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The One Biome Approach
Carmel Croukamp, DPhil, CEO, Parque des Aves |
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12:20 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
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LUNCH (included in registration)
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1:20 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
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PANEL 5: WHAT EXACTLY DO FIELD PEOPLE WANT AND NEED FROM ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS?
Moderator: Marc Ancrenaz, PhD., HUTAN - Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme Panelists: Charles Foley, PhD., Wildlife Conservation Society, Tanzania Program Tyler Sanville, Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education Cheryl Knott, Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Programme Amy Deane, Save the Wild Chinchillas Daniel Hilliard, PhD., Audubon Nature Institute/Zoo Conservation Outreach Group (ZCOG) |
SESSION 6: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO SUPPORTING CONSERVATION AND FINDING THE MONEY
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2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
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Buttons, Bottles, Bags and Boxes: Creative Ways to Save the World!
Jody Palmer, Brevard Zoo |
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2:50 p.m. - 3:10 p.m.
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Funding and Partnering: What the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Can Do For You
Danielle Kessler, USFWS International Affairs |
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3:10 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
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Merging the Zoo with a Field Conservation Organization
John Linehan, Dr. Bryan Windmiller, Dr. Eric Baitchman, Zoo New England |
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3:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
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PASA: A Unique Global Approach to Supporting Conservation in Africa
Gregg Tully, Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) |
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3:50 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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BREAK & Funk Town Get Your Groove On Energizer
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SESSION 7: REGIONAL PARTNERING AND URBAN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION INITIATIVES
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4:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.
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Introducing the urban wildlife information network: An integrated approach to urban wildlife research
Seth Magle, Lincoln Park Zoo |
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4:20 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.
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Time Flies: Ten years of California Condor nest guarding leads to expanded regional partnerships
Estelle Sandhaus, Santa Barbara Zoo |
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4:40 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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Engaging Local Indian Communities in Monitoring Camera Traps and Mitigating Threats to Local Snakes and Other Wildlife
Murthy Kantimahanti, Founder of Eastern Ghats Wildlife Society |
CONCURRENT SESSION 8A: HOW TO MEASURE YOUR ZOO'S CONSERVATION COMMITMENT & HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE YOUR SUCCESSES? Hyatt Hotel - Conference Room B
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5:00 p.m. - 5:20 p.m.
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Sustainable Palm Oil: Using Community Engagement to Solve the Palm Oil Problem
Catherine Barton, Jennifer Tegg, Chester Zoo |
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5:20 p.m. - 5:40 p.m.
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Zoos and Aquariums as Conservation Bright-spots: Modeling Conservation Commitment through Actions to Your Audience
Kathayoon Khalil, PhD., Seattle Aquarium Lily Maynard, Conservation Program Manager, Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment |
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5:40 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
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Designing Zoos for the Survival of Species
Julia Hanuliakova, Zoo Design, Inc. |
CONCURRENT SESSION 8B: HOW CAN A FIELD PROJECT INCREASE ITS IMPACT THROUGH COLLABORATION? Hyatt Hotel - Riverview Terrace
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5:00 p.m. - 5:20 p.m.
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Building a Community of Zoos for African Vulture Conservation as a new SAFE Member-sponsored Species Program
Corinne Kendall, North Carolina Zoo |
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5:20 p.m. - 5:40 p.m.
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Taking the Next Step in Conservation
Felicia Spector, Rainforest Trust |
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5:40 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
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Artificial Nest Boxes for Hornbills in Kinabatangan
Ravinder Kaur, Gaia |
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6:00 p.m. - 7:50 p.m.
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DINNER (on your own)
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8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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Movie Night at Hotel
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Friday, January 26, 2018
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7:00 a.m.
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Conference Check-in begins and coffee & tea served
Outside Conference Room B, Third Floor of Hyatt Hotel Check in will continue until 3 p.m. |
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8:00 a.m. - 8:10 a.m.
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Good Morning and Keynote Introduction
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8:10 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.
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Keynote Speaker
Doug Cress, Chief Executive Officer, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums |
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8:50 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
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BREAK
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9:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m.
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PANEL 6: IUCN/AZA/WAZA Partnerships
Moderator: John Lukas, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens/Okapi Conservation Project Panelists:
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10:10 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.
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BREAK
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SESSION 9: NEW FIELD PROJECTS
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10:20 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.
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Broad-based projects stakeholder involvement in the effort to create Ebo National Park, Cameroon
Bill Konstant, Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation |
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10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
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Landscape ecology and behavioural response of Sunda pangolin to habitat degradation and fragmentation in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, Sabah, Malaysia
Elisa Panjang, Danau Girang Field Centre |
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11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
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Establishing a holistic conservation plan for the Azuay stubfoot toad (Atelopus bomolochos), an amphibian species from Ecuador that was thought to be extinct
Carlos C. Martinez Rivera, PhD., Philadelphia Zoo |
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11:20 a.m. - 11:40 p.m.
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Empowering Local Communities in Eastern Kenya to Conserver Giraffes
Abdullahi H. Ali, Hirola Conservation Programme |
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11:40 a.m. - 12:40 p.m.
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LUNCH
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12:40 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
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PANEL 7: THE POWER OF MENTORING - EVERYONE IS A MENTOR
Moderator: Beth Armstrong, Co-founder ZACC Conference, Conservation Initiatives Consulting and founder of Finding Your Voice conservation summit Panelists:
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1:50 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
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Open Floor Discussion
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2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
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Closing Remarks, Announcement of Next ZACC Conference
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Saturday, January 27, 2018
Post Conference Trips
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8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
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WHITE OAK CONSERVATION CENTER
Busses leave hotel at 8:30 a.m. and return by 1:30 p.m. Lunch included. |
Check out our Post-conference trip!
White oak conservation center
White Oak promotes endeavors in conservation through innovative science, education, training, and collaborations. We are committed to providing conservation options for the species that need them the most. We invite you to explore our 13,000 acre haven for people, animals and ideas, and join in our effort to save species.
register for the conference
Join us in the Sunshine State for 5-day conference filled with animal and plant conservation, motivation, collaboration, action and fun! Complete the registration form and book your hotel. Don't forget to check out the pre-conference workshops and post conference field trip to nearby AZA institutions.