Board of Directors – Officers
President
Tim Morrow
He currently serves as the CEO and Executive Director for the San Antonio Zoo and its Zoo School, which will open in fall 2017 as the largest nature based preschool in the country. Tim leads a team of nine vice presidents who together oversee nearly 500 employees, 600 volunteers and care for a multitude of animal species, some of which are threatened or endangered. Tim’s vision to take the San Antonio Zoo to new heights began with investing $5 million into upgrading and renovating more than 100 animal habitats in his first two years. The most dramatic first improvements were the opening of a new home for giraffes, the addition of rain gardens both in the giraffe and elephant habitats, and expanding the African lion habitat. Tim serves on the boards of several organizations, including the International Elephant Foundation, San Antonio Tourism Council, UTSA Alumni Association, and Young Presidents Organization’s San Antonio chapter.
While away from the “office,” Tim cheers on the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Cowboys, and his favorite travel partners are his wife Jennifer and two children.
Secretary, President-Elect
Mike Fouraker
Board of Directors – Members
Brian Aucone
Kristi Burtis
Kristi Burtis is the Director of Wildlife Care for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. She started her career at SeaWorld San Diego and spent over 31 years in Animal Care and training. She was a member of the Rescue and Rehabilitation Team, working with sea lions, seals, several species of dolphins, grey whales and sea otters. Kristi’s Animal Training experience consisted of over 20 years training dolphins, manatees, pilot whales, walruses, a variety of species of birds, and killer whales. She was selected to serve on the local and corporate Animal Welfare Committees and assisted on the design team for SeaWorld Abu Dhabi. Kristi earned a Veterinarian Technician Certificate and Associate of Animal Science degree (1993), Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Biology (1999), Master of Arts degree in Human Behavior (2003), and Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership (2018). She also taught for the San Diego Community College District in Psychology/Learning and Behavior for over 12 years.
Frank Carlos Camacho
Charlie Gray
Columbus Zoo
Daryl Hoffman
Gary Johnson
Dr. Arne Lawrenz
Dr. Lawrenz is active in research and endangered species conservation, focusing on non-infectious diseases in the endangered Black-footed cat, and tuberculosis in elephants. He is Chairman of the Veterinary Committee of the European Association of Zoos & Aquaria (EAZA), President for Zoo Animal, Wildlife and Exotic Animal Medicine of Deutsche Veterinärmedizinische Gesellschaft (DVG), Past President of the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (EAZWV), and Veterinary Advisor for the Black-footed Cat EEP, Asian Golden Cat EEP, and Pudu EEP.
Amos Morris
Amos Morris has over 35 years of experience working in zoological facilities, with 30 of them working directly with elephants, elephant management, and elephant policy. Currently the Zoo Director of the Milwaukee County Zoo, Morris was previously Chief Operation Officer/Deputy Director at Fresno Chaffee Zoo, and Curator of Mammals at Pittsburgh Zoo where he managed their successful African elephant breeding program. While at the Pittsburgh Zoo he coordinated the construction and managed the development of the International Conservation Center (ICC), a 724 acre farm dedicated to the conservation of endangered and threatened species.
Morris is also active in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Accreditation Commission where he has been an accreditation inspector focused on elephant standards for 10 years, and functions as the elephant liaison to the Elephant TAG/SSP and served on their steering committee from 2007 to 2017.
Randy Rieches
Staff
Executive Director
Deborah Olson
Conservation Coordinator
Sarah Conley
Conley has been active in legislative and animal welfare issues, working to secure a future for elephants in a world where people are increasingly disconnected from nature. She is a nationally published writer and regular contributor to animal welfare and animal industry publications.
Advisors
Tom Albert
Dr. Barbara Baker
Dr. Barbara Baker is President & CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, a facility housing over 6,000 animals and ranked in the top five zoos for families nationwide, with over 1 million visitors each year. During her 28 year career, she was a veterinarian at numerous facilities housing African and Asian elephants, including the Bronx Zoo, the Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Riverbanks Zoo. Dr. Baker has supported the vision, programs, and resources for the Pittsburgh Zoo’s elephant herd to grow from 2 to 10 animals, one of the largest in the U.S., including 4 successful births. The Zoo recently developed a 724 acres (290 hectares) property into its International Conservation Center (ICC), a conservation, breeding and education center with the primary focus on African elephants. The facility includes a 10,000 sq. ft. elephant barn that is currently home to 3 elephants, including “Jackson,” one of the most valuable breeding bulls in the country.
The Pittsburgh Zoo has developed a number of international partnerships for elephants, including a formal partnership with the Institute for Zoological and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin, and a unique “sister zoo” relationship with ZooWuppertal in Germany, now a very successful ten year partnership. Dr. Baker is currently coordinating research efforts on African elephants in the wild in collaboration with IZW, ZooParc de Beauval in France, the National Zoo in South Africa, the SA Biobank, and the University of Western Cape, SA.
David R. Blasko
Blasko began his career at Sea World of Ohio, and came to the Six Flags Marine World park (then Marine World Africa USA) in 1982, serving as Elephant Training Supervisor for 20 years. A respected consultant on elephant care, training and safety for other zoos, government agencies (USDA/APHIS, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, California Fish & Game, etc.), and to private owners, Blasko is past president of the national Elephant Managers Association and an instructor for the Principles of Elephant Management School of the American Zoo & Aquarium Association. He served on the steering committee of the Asian and African Elephant Species Survival Program management group, helping preserve elephants in zoos and in the wild.
During his tenure at Marine World, Blasko and the elephants in his charge participated in groundbreaking efforts to establish and refine artificial insemination techniques and procedures for African elephants. Scientific studies benefiting elephants in zoos and in the wild, including work with elephant foot care, dental care, ultrasonic communication, chemical communication, locomotion, DNA analysis, and pioneering veterinary care procedures including infrared light treatments were among Blasko’s cooperative research efforts at Six Flags Marine World. He presented papers on elephant care at numerous Elephant Managers Association and American Zoo and Aquarium Association conferences.
Blasko is on the Board of Directors of The International Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and a past board member of the International Elephant Foundation. He is past president of the Elephant Managers Association and a professional member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Blasko holds a Wildlife Law Enforcement certificate from the California Department of Fish & Game.
Dr. Robert Dale
Dr. Elizabeth Freeman
Dr. Gary Hayward
To say that Dr. Gary Hayward is an important figure in the elephant conservation and research community is an understatement. After a career studying human herpesvirus diseases, Dr. Hayward proceeded to become the leading “virus detective” carrying out research into understanding Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) and its impact on both captive and wild Asian and African elephant populations worldwide. EEHV was first identified in 1999 by Dr. Laura Richman under the tutelage of Dr. Hayward, and he has been researching this novel “Proboscivirus” branch of the herpesvirus family extensively ever since. Dr. Hayward and his team identified all seven known species of EEHV and the numerous highly diverged subtypes and strains of each through “genetic fingerprinting” as well as carrying out genomic DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Their work allows researchers to compare EEHV with similar diseases and understand more about how it affects elephants, facilitating the development of diagnostic PCR and serology tests and research into treatments and vaccines. It is safe to say that nearly all work being done to fight EEHV can be traced back to Dr. Hayward and his findings. Dr. Hayward has an expansive list of over 200 peer-reviewed publications including 25 describing his EEHV studies and can be regularly seen presenting internationally at conferences, sharing his expertise and experience.
Dr. Robert Hunter
He became the Chief Scientific Officer at Parnell and was responsible for R&D, Regulatory, Clinical Sciences, and Business Development. In his role at Provetica, Rob is responsible for all animal studies and regulatory interactions.
He has authored over 70 peer reviewed manuscripts and book chapters, of which more than half are related to zoological and elephant pharmacology. He is currently a member of the Elephant Stakeholder Steering Committee on tuberculosis. He has previously served on the Indianapolis Zoo and Topeka Zoo Research Boards and as a reviewer for AZA CEF grants. Rob is also a member of the Editorial Boards for the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology & Therapeutics and the Journal of Zoo & Wildlife Medicine.
Dr. Wendy Kiso
Dr. Wendy Kiso is the Director of Conservation and Research at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Center for Elephant Conservation. She obtained her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine. She is a graduate of the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College, after which she received a Master of Natural and Applied Science degree from Missouri State University. Dr. Kiso received her Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy at George Mason University in partnership with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C. Currently, she is responsible for conducting and collaborating on all conservation and research projects towards the biology and care of the endangered Asian elephant.
Dr. Paul Ling
Paul D Ling received a PhD in Microbiology and spent his graduate and postdoctoral careers investigating human herpesviruses Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) and Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) respectively. He continued his work on EBV and other animal gammaherpesviruses after moving to Houston and Baylor College of Medicine to start his own research program. In 2010, following the death of Mac at the Houston zoo from EEHV, a collaboration was established between the Houston zoo and Dr. Lings’ lab to address the devastating disease caused by this virus, especially in Asian elephant calves. Since that time, his laboratory has leveraged its experience and knowledge of human herpesviruses to combat the threat of EEHV in elephants.
His lab developed qPCR tests to detect all EEHV species known to be endemic within both African and Asian elephants. These tests are used for surveillance of elephants in the United States, Africa and several countries in South East Asia. With a grant from IEF, his lab used these new tests to show that elephants in Southern India shed the same species of EEHV found in captive elephants in the United States. His lab, along with collaborators at the Houston zoo, also used the qPCR tests to describe EEHV viremia, shedding, and associated changes in CBCs during the course of EEHV-associated hemorrhagic disease. Along with his collaborators at Johns Hopkins (Dr. Gary Hayward) and the Baylor College of Medicine Human genome sequencing center, his lab determined the genomic sequence of EEHV1A, the most deadly form of EEHV in Asian elephants, and also EEHV4. More recently, his lab developed an Asian elephant-specific IFN-g Elispot assay for the purpose of interrogating anti-EEHV T-cell responses and a novel serology assay that can distinguish antibody responses between different the EEHV types in Asian elephants. These tools have formed a foundation for developing and evaluating an EEHV vaccine, which his laboratory is currently focused on producing. Dr. Ling previously served as Secretary of the Epstein-Barr virus association and chaired the Microbial Pathogenesis and Cancer study section for the American Cancer Society. He is currently an Associate Professor (with tenure) in the Department of Microbiology and Virology at Baylor College of Medicine, a member of the EEHV advisory group Steering committee and is also an Associate Editor of Plos Pathogens.
As IEF Advisor and Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus expert, Dr. Paul Ling postulated during a recent interview.
Harry Peachey
In April of 1998, he spent several weeks in Indonesia, a portion of his time in Jakarta meeting with government officials in both the CITES Office and the Department of Forestry. In April of 2000, Harry served on the Steering Committee for a meeting held in Bogor, Indonesia to review the problems facing elephant conservation in Sumatra. Since his return from Indonesia and his exposure to the difficult circumstances confronting both the Elephant Training Centers and in situ elephant conservation in Sumatra, issues which have been complicated by the economic crisis in Asia, Harry has been actively involved in fundraising to support veterinary care for Sumatra’s captive elephant population. Harry has also served as an elephant consultant to several other zoos. Harry served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Elephant Manager’s Association, and is currently a member of the AZA Elephant TAG/SSP Management Group.
Heidi Riddle
Ms. Riddle developed and instructs at the annual international School for Elephant Management attended by elephant handlers from institutions worldwide. Ms. Riddle also co-founded the annual Elephant Ultrasound Workshop for wildlife veterinarians. In 2001, Ms. Riddle was invited to join the Asian Elephant Specialist Group of the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The group’s mission is to work toward’s conservation of Asian elephants worldwide.
Dr. Bruce Schulte
Dr. Bruce A. Schulte is the Associate Vice-President for Strategy, Performance and Accountability at Western Kentucky University (WKU). He also is a University Distinguished Professor. For ten years, he was the Department Head of Biology at WKU. Previously, he was a professor at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia and before that at Providence College in Rhode Island. He received his B.S. in Biology from the College of William and Mary, his M.S. from the University of Southern California, and his Ph.D. at the State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry. His doctoral work was on the behavior of the North American beaver. He studies with Dr. Dietland Müller-Schwarze, who was a student of Nobel Laurette Konrad Lorenz. Dr. Schulte conducted his postdoctoral work on chemical communication in Asian elephants with Dr. Bets Rasmussen. This team included organic chemist Dr. Thomas Goodwin from Hendrix College. After Bets passed away in 2006, Tom and Bruce continued to work together until Tom retired in 2017. Bruce Schulte also has a long-term collaboration with fellow IEF science advisor Dr. Elizabeth Freeman.
Dr. Bruce Schulte has been studying elephant chemical communication and conservation behavior for the past 25 years. His research has occurred at facilities housing elephants throughout North America and in elephant range countries in Africa. He had long-term projects involving graduate and undergraduate students at Addo Elephant National Park and the Associated Private Nature Reserves bordering Kruger National Park in South Africa, in Tanzania near Arusha and in western Tanzania at Katavi National Park, in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and currently in the greater Tsavo region of Kenya. The latest project brings together much of what we have learned about elephants and explores more that we need to know about elephants and farming in Africa to facilitate a harmonious coexistence between humans and elephants. Elephants and Sustainable Agriculture in Kenya is the project supported by the Earthwatch Institute and IEF in which we are examining Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices, deterrent methods (also in conjunction with Save the Elephants – Elephants and Bees Project), ecological correlates of elephant crop raiding, and elephant behavior (see the IEF video). This project would be impossible without the wonderful collaboration of Wildlife Works, a REDD+ program management and development company, their Biodiversity Director, Dr. Mwangi Githiru, and field scientists Bernard Amakobe and Simon Kasaine. We also collaborate with Dr. Urbanus Mutwiwa at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. Graduate students at WKU (Lynn von Hagen, now a doctoral candidate at Auburn University; Sophia Corde) are instrumental in the success of this research as are the numerous citizen scientists involved through Earthwatch. Bruce is delighted to be a scientific advisor for IEF and invites everyone to contact him about his research on elephants or questions regarding research that might be supported by IEF.
Dr. Dennis Schmitt
Laura V. D. Meer, Esq.
She currently serves as the Permanent Representative of the European Circus Association in Brussels. Prior to establishing her consulting company, Laura practiced law for 8 years with the firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.C. in its Washington DC and Brussels offices. With this expertise, Laura has represented the International Elephant Foundation for the last four years at CITES conferences and related meetings.
In addition to her law degree from the Marshall Wythe School of Law and the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, Laura has a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Missouri, bringing a background in education to IEF.