Director of Conservation and Communications at Wildlife World Zoo

We asked Dr. Grey to tell us about his background.
I started my zoological career by training marine mammals at a place once called Sea World of Ohio.  I later completed my doctoral research in primate physiology at Kent State University.  In 1998, I moved to Arizona to serve as Curator of Education at Wildlife World Zoo.  Starting in 2002, I spent two years living in Hawaii and managing a dolphin facility.  My family and I eagerly moved back home to Arizona in 2004, and I rejoined the staff at Wildlife World Zoo as Director of Conservation and Communication.  I currently live in the NE valley with my college sweetheart and wife of 16 years, Karen, along with two dogs, a 40-pound African spurred tortoise, named “Tortellini,” and an Australian sugar glider.

What is your passion?
In addition to educating the public about animals from all over the globe and the need to conserve wild places, I'm passionate about teaching animals (and their owners) to be more successful using positive reinforcement instead of punishment.  These principles of rewarding a pet’s success and refraining from punishment to correct behavior come from years of experience working in cooperation with exotic, rare, and often dangerous zoo animals. 

In his upcoming book, introduced by Jungle Jack Hanna himself and entitled Zoomility: a keeper’s tales of training with positive reinforcement, Grey teaches readers how to use those same ideas with their own pets.  Along the way, he shares some of his own memorable experiences from a career dedicated to helping wild and domesticated animals.

Do you have a question for Dr. Stafford?
Send us an email and we’ll ask him to answer some in upcoming weeks.