Hey everyone. I've been posting here for the past 5 or 6 months but somehow didn't see this thread. A late introduction is better than none I suppose. I was a volunteer/intern at the San Francisco Zoo through my teen/early 20's and currently volunteer & work at several other wildlife-oriented facilities in San Francisco. I have tonnes of hands-on experience with reptiles, small mammals, domestic birds, dogs, small marsupials and local San Francisco Bay Area wildlife. I visit the San Francisco Zoo several times a month. I care very deeply about the facility, and its commitment to education, conservation and its animal collection. It's education programs have been the blueprint for many of other zoo, aquariums and wildlife parks throughout the US. However, I never hesitate to CONSTRUCTIVELY criticize the Zoo and some of the decisions made there. In addition to the San Francisco Zoo, I'm fairly familiar with the Oakland Zoo, Portland Zoo, Seattle Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Vancouver Aquarium, San Diego Zoo & Safari Park, National Zoo & London Zoo. I have high standards of animal welfare and care and always see room for improvement in the way animals are being managed in captivity. In University I was active in PETA (scary right?) and have I've fluctuated between Veganism and vegetarianism since I was 11. In other areas of my life I'm a political junkie, a history nerd, a surfer, an Orthodox Jew and I likes a good beer
