Contact Us

If you have questions about your proposal, please contact the Annual Conference Program Committee liaison(s) for the track you're submitting to.

If you're having technical difficulties with the submission form, please contact Cheryl Andrews, AZA.

	Animal Management, Health & Welfare Topics that fall within the track include, but may not be limited to, animal care, husbandry, health/veterinary care, wellbeing, enrichment, behavioral husbandry, welfare assessments & assessment application, registrar duties such as shipping & permits, animal & staff safety, nutrition, animal staff recruitment/management/retention & DEIA, taxa/species specific sessions, use of technology in animal care, and pest management.	Tim Van Loan Amy Roberts  Gary Lunsford
	Aquarium Affairs Proposals addressing aquarium-specific topics including but not limited to marine-related animal research and studies, aquarium trends and challenges, and marine and coastal ecosystem conservation efforts.	Larry Warner Will Elgar
	Business Operations Covers best practices in business operations, emerging financial issues, revenue-generation and expense management, guest experiences, and green and sustainable practices in partnership with the Green Scientific Advisory Group (GSAG).	Sean Greene
	Conservation Topics including, but not limited to, scaling conservation impact, best practice learnings to support greater effectiveness, DEAI/indigenous and community-led approaches to nature preservation, social science efforts that are driving conservation behavior change, innovation/tech solutions to accelerate success, proven measurement and evaluation tools to assess impact, efforts to integrate environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation, and topics that are aligned with global goals and frameworks (IUCN, CBD, SDGs, SAFE, etc.). Submissions aligned to the above will be prioritized over general conservation project report-outs.	Renee Bumpus Claire Martin
	Development & Membership Sessions focus on various fundraising and membership related topics, in an effort to learn from peers of various sizes and locations. We seek to highlight best practices, emerging trends, and more.	Amy Lazoff
	Education Topics that fall within this track include education, learning, and engagement efforts and programs across audiences, formats, and delivery methods as well as topics such as DEAI; conservation action; evaluation and research; leadership and staff development, and revenue generation when focused on education teams or programming.	Allison Price Amy Rutherford
	Public Relations & Marketing Topics that fall within this track include, but are not limited to, inventive strategies for championing wildlife conservation, enhancing visitor engagement, and establishing compelling institutional brands through advertising as well as earned and owned media.	Jennifer Porter Jackie Wallace
	Volunteer & Intern Engagement This track covers a variety of topics specific to engagement with volunteers and interns, including recruitment, training, program management, communication, program culture and DEIA.The primary objectives for this track include networking with diverse peers, staying informed on emerging trends and acquiring practical strategies to advance the collective impact of community involvement in conservation and mission of AZA.	Laura Chapman
	Workplace Culture, Staff Engagement, & Professional Development Covers an array of people-related topics including, but not limited to leadership, employee engagement, DEAI, and growing the skills of the people at your facility.	Mike Allen Misha Body
	Trends & More Topics that fall within this track include but are not limited to trends within the zoo and aquarium industry, zoo/aquarium design, strategic/facility/interpretive planning, construction, capital campaigns, maintenance, horticulture, human resources, professional development, data/technology, safety, and AZA Promises. Additionally, includes topics related to the mission of the AZA Trends Committee.	Dean Watanabe Megan Nielsen Hegstad