I grew up in Telluride, Colorado, a small ski town located in a box canyon.  I was surrounded by some of the most incredible wildlife and spent a lot of time with my family doing outdoor activities such as: hiking, camping, skiing, mountain biking, and martial arts. From a very early age I fell in love with animals, and my dream was to become an animal care professional. After high school, I went on to purse my A.A.S Degree in Zookeeping Technology at Pikes Peak Community College. I graduated in 2018 from the Zookeeping program and shortly after began working with raptors (hawks, eagles, falcons, owls, etc.) under the raptor center director Diana Miller at the Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center. As a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, I worked with and rehabilitated over 20 Colorado native raptor species from 2018 to 2021. From October 2019 to January 2020, I completed a zookeeping internship at the famous Chyenne Mountain Zoo. I gained hands on experience learning about and caring for western lowland gorillas, Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, siamangs, golden lion tamarins, and two naked mole rat colonies. In June of 2021, I started my dream job working as a zookeeper at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. Over the course of two and a half years, I worked with a large variety of wildlife including multiple species of birds such as parrots, raptors, hornbills, songbirds, and flamingos. In January of 2023 I became a licensed falconer under Master Falconer Tony Pantaleo and have successfully trapped, trained, and hunted with two wild red-tailed hawks. In February of 2024, I decided to start Wilder Avian Behavior to help parrot owners with husbandry, enrichment, and positive reinforcement training techniques to improve the lives of parrot owners and their birds. I was inspired to start this business because of my cockatoo, Treasure, who was adopted from the Gabriel Foundation in 2018 after being there for eleven years.  Since adopting Treasure he's received a lot more individualized attention. He came to me with patches of his feather's missing. I have been able to significantly improve his feather quality from diet and enrichment.  Through positive reinforcement training, I've been able to reduce the amount of feather picking Treasure does. I've also trained him to touch a target and do body presentations so I can examine his feet and other areas. He also has been trained to recall into his cage when directed. These are just a few of the ways that I can help care for your bird. I look forward to providing services to clients and their feathered companions.