It's Island Time! The ABMA invites you to join us in Galveston, TX in 2025 and help celebrate our 25th anniversary!
The conference theme is New Perspectives: Unlocking Strategies For Success
Dates: 27 April - 2 May 2025
Location: Moody Gardens Hotel is the conference hotel.
A portion of your conference registration fee will go towards this amazing organization.
ABMA Merchandise Available!
Upload your conference photos here! **By uploading your photo(s) you agree to the ABMA digital media general disclaimer: The undersigned (the "Photographer") hereby irrevocably grants to the Animal Behavior Management Alliance (the “ABMA") full and complete permission to use the submitted digital media in any ABMA publication, including, but not limited to, use in Behavior Month, Engage, illustrations, internet content, and other outlets of publication and marketing. With the exception of the foregoing, the ABMA makes no claims to ownership of the submitted digital media and ownership rights are retained by the Photographer.
|
Conference Policies Code of Conduct · {C}Be aware of your surroundings at all times. · {C}Regardless of where you are, use the buddy system when walking to and from the conference location, networking event locations especially during early or late hours. · {C}Don’t wear your meeting badge on the street. Take it off as soon as you leave the venue. · {C}Don’t carry a lot of cash or credit cards. · {C}Don’t leave personal property unattended anywhere, anytime.
In an emergency, you should ask any ABMA leadership or the on-site security personnel to help you.
· Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form. · Any abuse, including physical, verbal or non-verbal abuse, of any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ABMA representative, service provider, or any other meeting guest. · Disruption of presentations at sessions, in the exhibit hall, or at any events organized by ABMA at the meeting venue, hotels, or other ABMA contracted facilities. · Examples of unacceptable behavior include comments related to gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces or in presentations, or threatening or stalking any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ABMA team member, service provider, or other meeting guest. Sexual Harassment · Physical conduct · Physical violence, including sexual assault · Unwelcome physical contact or inappropriate touching · The use of threats or rewards to solicit sexual favors Verbal conduct · Comments or insults based on appearance, age, private life, etc. · Sexual comments, stories or jokes · Sexual advances · Repeated and unwanted social invitations for dates or physical intimacy · Condescending or sexist remarks · Sending sexually explicit messages (by phone or email) Non-verbal conduct · Display of sexually explicit or suggestive material or images · Sexually-suggestive gestures · Whistling or “cat calling”
Reporting Unacceptable Conduct Jake Belair, ABMA Vice President Anaka Nazareth ABMA President
· Verbal or written warning; · Suspension of attendance at ABMA sponsored events; · Prohibit attendance at any future meeting The ABMA team member receiving the report will respect any and all requests of the victim to remain anonymous. Unacceptable conduct may be part of a larger pattern of repeated harassment. Please alert ABMA to all such conduct regardless of the offender’s identity or job title, even if you prefer your report to remain anonymous.
BMF TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP Did you know that ABMA’s Behavior Management Fund (BMF) committee will provide a travel scholarship for the 2025 annual conference? This scholarship is to assist anyone whose institution is unable to give them financial support. This will help an award recipient have the ability to present their work and help the organization by giving our membership the opportunity to hear information that supports the ABMA’s Core Values. The deadline to submit for the 2025 conference has passed.
If you have a behavior management accomplishment, an intriguing case study, a research project, or an innovation for the field, especially one that resonates with the theme of the conference, please come share it with your colleagues! The abstract submission details for the 2025 annual conference are below. Conference Pricing: Pricing for the conference is listed below. We are excited to provide food for all but 2 meals. That's right, food is included with your registration! You must login to receive the member rate. Come celebrate our 25th anniversary! Reciprocity Registration: If you want to utilize your reciprocity membership from AAZK or IMATA, you must contact us first to receive a coupon code to register. The ABMA reserves the right to deny the member rate upon verifying your member status- if you are not a member of AAZK or IMATA you will be charged the non-member rate. CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS: Your credit card transaction will appear on your credit card statement from PayPal as either THEABMA or THEANIMALBEHAVIOR. If you file a dispute over an ABMA transaction, either with your credit card company or PayPal, which turns out to be an approved ABMA transaction, you will incur any PayPal fees (~$20) associated with resolving this error for which the ABMA was charged. EARLY Registration: Early Registration is available for purchase until 28 February. The next day, 1 March, prices will increase. **The pre-conference workshop and post conference trip are NOT included in the weekly registration and will need to be purchased separately from the a la cart menu. ***ABMA conference T shirts are discounted to $15 if purchased during EARLY registration; price will increase to $22 at the conference. Mission Wildlife sweatshirts are $50 if purchased with early registration or at the conference. The last day to purchase T shirts and/or sweatshirts is 28 February, which will guarantee your size and color option. 
Regular registration is available for purchase from 1 March until 20 April. There will be on-site registration starting 27 April. Member Regular Weekly registration- $650 **The pre-conference workshop and post conference trip are NOT included in the weekly registration and will need to be purchased separately.
Yes, this option is available for the 2025 conference! Virtual Registration is available until 20 April. Virtual weekly member registration- $750 Member On-site Weekly registration- $699 **Daily Registrations do not include these extra events and will need to be purchased separately. ***The pre-conference workshop and post conference trip are an additional cost for any registration. Pre Conference workshop- Sunday 27 April from 9am-5pm Location- Moody Gardens Hotel Ballroom
Sunday, 27 April- Pre-conference workshop, registration, ice breaker Meals provided: lunch for workshop; heavy hors d'oeuvres at icebreaker Monday, 28 April- keynote speaker, presentations, poster presentations, police k9 demonstration, professional development night Meals provided: morning break, lunch, afternoon break, hors d'oeuvres Tuesday, 29 April- presentations, research openness panel, poster presentations, silent auction Meals provided: morning break, lunch, afternoon break, heavy hors d'oeuvres Wednesday, 30 April- presentations, poster presentations Meals provided: morning break, lunch, afternoon break *dinner on your own Thursday, 1 May- member business meeting, Zoo Day! Meals provided: breakfast, lunch *dinner on your own Friday, 2 May- presentations, poster presentations, banquet Meals provided: morning break, lunch, afternoon break, banquet meal Saturday, 3 May- post-conference trip to Houston Zoo **See program for a more detailed schedule** Contact us if you have any questions. REFUND POLICY: 100% until 30 days before the start of the conference 50% from 29 days until 8 days before the conference No refunds starting the week before the conference CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS (CEU’s): We typically offer CEU’s for a variety of organizations. Once the program is finalized we will submit for credits and post here. These are the organizations we typically provide CEU's for. If you need CEU's for another organization just let us know. IAABC- IATCB- CCPDT- NAI- We look forward to seeing you in Galveston!
The Moody Gardens Hotel is the conference hotel.
There are TWO airports in Houston. Houston Hobby (HOU) is the closest airport to Galveston Island. Yes, Galveston is an island! Hobby is a HUB for Southwest and is a minimum 45 minutes away. Bush Intercontinental (IAH) is the larger airport and the furthest away from the island. It's a HUB for United and is a minimum 75 minutes away. Our annual conference would not be possible without the support of our sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring, the Galveston sponsorship packet is available to view here or by clicking the photo below. Vendor booth space is available! You can also contact us for more information. The 25th annual ABMA Conference is pleased to announce several Pre and Post conference opportunities.Pre-Conference We have TWO exciting pre-conference opportunities! Option 1: Pre-Conference Workshop, Sunday 27 April
Maximum attendees- 30 Cost: Member- $150, Non-member- $199 Option 2: FeatherFest, Saturday 26 April and Sunday 27 April  Calling ALL Birders and Photographers! If you are a birder then you need to experience FeatherFest! The ABMA conference is scheduled at the height of migratory bird season for the upper Texas coast. We will provide an early bird registration link for FeatherFest so you can participate in some unique birding opportunities. This will not be managed by the ABMA; it will all be managed by FeatherFest. However, please let us know you will be attending by checking the FeatherFest box on the conference registration form. We want to provide you with contact information to make sure if you have any issues that you have a local to assist you! Depending on the tour(s) you choose, lunch will either be provided or on your own. Post Conference  A trip to the Houston Zoo for $50 will be available to explore at your leisure. This will be a one-way trip on Saturday, 3 May. Leave Moody Gardens at 9am and arrive at the Houston Zoo at 10am where you can stay until closing (4pm). Luggage will be stored in a secured room while you explore the zoo. You can leave for the airport from the zoo at any time, or choose to stay Saturday night at a hotel closer to the airport to catch your flight. More BTS details coming soon! We are excited to announce our keynote speaker for the 2025 conference will be Julie Scardina!
Julie has been recognized for her work with a variety of awards: an Emmy for educational programming, a US Fish & Wildlife Service award for conservation, a collegiate Hall of Fame induction, and IMATA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Julie serves on the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders advisory board, sharing knowledge and coaching up and coming leaders in the field of conservation. She is co-author of the award-winning book Wildlife Heroes, highlighting 40 conservationists and their work to save imperiled species. Julie believes “we can all be wildlife heroes - actions such as creating your own backyard habitat and making informed consumer choices make a big difference for the health of our planet and all its inhabitants.”
Learn more about the featured speakers for the 2025 ABMA conference. Details will be posted as they are finalized.
Medical research involving animals is often misunderstood, and, like all animals in managed care, the consequences of this lack of understanding can be devastating. Transparency and openness initiatives surrounding this important work are the best ways to improve public understanding and support animal welfare programs. We have experts in the field of research who will be completely transparent about this important work and answer your tough questions about animals in a research setting. • Understand why transparency regarding our work with animals in managed care is important and not something to shy away from. • Gain insight into Behavior Management Programs at research facilities. • Learn strategies on how to manage animal rights groups. • Discover how to utilize social media and community outreach in your openness strategy for your facility.
Training 101 and 102 (Tuesday 29 April) A fun, interactive workshop for animal professionals of all levels. During this workshop, we are partnering with some animal friends from the Galveston Island Humane Society. Our goal is to offer a hands-on experience and create opportunities to learn from each other. We will start with Training 101 which focuses on the basics then transition into Training 102 which focuses on some advanced concepts. We will discuss new and maybe not-so-new ideas about how we communicate with and teach the animals in our care.
Storytelling and Interpretation Workshop (Friday 2 May)
Upon completing this workshop, you will have a fundamental understanding of:
Conference Entertainment
Our island conference provides some unique opportunities for networking and entertainment throughout the conference.
Turtles About Town  Get your camera and your sleuthing skills ready! We are challenging YOU to find as many Turtles About Town as possible! Galveston has partnered with Turtle Island Restoration Network by having local artists paint sea turtle statues all over the island- there are over 60! When you spot a sea turtle, take a “shelfie” and be sure to tag the ABMA and Turtle Island Restoration Network in your images and use the hashtag #TurtlesAboutTown! If you post the most turtle selfies in the whova app by the end of the week, the winner will get a prize at the banquet! Hint...the icebreaker has an easy "shelfie". Beautify The Bucket
The ABMA will have two buckets for conference attendees to design and paint! If you have artistic talent, email us artwork so we can incorporate it into our bucket designs. Then, join us Wednesday night to paint the buckets! We will provide the paint, supplies, and karaoke! Evening Entertainment After the day's papers have concluded, we have something for everyone to be social and continue the networking! The hotel lobby has the Garden Cay- an adult -only room with games and a more secluded networking area. The courtyard by the pool has a variety of oversized games, like checkers and cornhole. Downtown Galveston nightlife is about 15 minutes (driving) from the Moody Gardens Hotel. We also have several nightly activities if you'd like to mix and mingle at the hotel! Sunday night: Kick off the conference week by attending the icebreaker at the Moody Gardens Aquarium, just a short walk from the hotel. This will be a fun evening of mingling with other ABMA conference attendees! Enjoy heavy hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and fun games while you explore the aquarium and meet animal ambassadors. Monday night: Professional Development Night- details coming soon Hospitality Suite, sponsored by Galveston AAZK Tuesday night: Silent Auction- Join us at the annual silent auction and bid on a variety of different items that will support ABMA's Behavior Management Fund scholarship. There will be some unique Zoo Day experiences up for auction you don't want to miss out on. Enjoy the evening of networking and bidding with heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Hospitality Suite, sponsored by Houston AAZK Wednesday night: Beautify the Bucket and Karaoke Hospitality Suite, sponsored by San Antonio AAZK
Friday night: There will be one site visit for the 2025 ABMA conference. We will be visiting Moody Gardens, which is on the same property as the hotel. It's just a short walk across the parking lot! There will be a silent auction during the conference. Get Excited! Moody Gardens has graciously extended your badge entry to the Aquarium and Rainforest pyramids all week with your ABMA badge.
There are many questions you may have about the upcoming annual conference in Galveston. If we have not addressed your question here, please contact us. The 2025 conference will be 6 days, including the icebreaker the evening before the conference officially kicks off. Each day will filled with learning and networking opportunities. There will be a zoo day at Moody Gardens. Questions? Contact us or the first VP directly. We look forward to seeing you soon! To be green, the ABMA does not hand out printed programs. We will have a Whova app for the 2025 conference. You can download the Whova app at any time; however, the ABMA conference within Whova will not be available to view until closer to the conference. Don't worry! We'll let you know when you can access the conference details. For feature details, visit Whova
ABMA Conference Program times are listed in Central (CST). The schedule is subject to change. Details will be posted as they are finalized. * Denotes presentation speaker(s) from a multi-authored paper. Below is our general schedule- a more detailed schedule will be posted in Spring 2025. Wednesday, 30 April Friday, 2 May Presentations We look forward to seeing you at the 2025 conference in Galveston! |
Join us for a unique and interactive class on “Hoof Dissection and Comparative Anatomy” performed by Paige Poss and hosted by the Animal Behavior Management Alliance! 
Julie Scardina is President and co-founder of Mission Wildlife, a non-profit organization dedicated to species conservation, bringing support to animals both locally and globally. 
Kelly Salamone will be guiding this workshop. She has over 20 years of experience working with animals, including both domestic and exotic species. For the past 19 years, she has been employed at the San Diego Zoo, where she currently serves as the coordinator for all ambassador presentations. Kelly is passionate about creating presentations that help guests connect with wildlife and conservation efforts. She is a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association for Interpretation and has implemented interpretive techniques and guidelines within Wildlife Care at the San Diego Zoo. 
Details will be posted as they are finalized. If you have questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to seeing you in person in Galveston!
