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llison Kao currently works as the Behavioral Husbandry and Enrichment Manager at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois. Allison started her career working with animals back in 2007 when she took on a summer internship at Toledo Zoo. During her internship she got to see what working with Polar Bears and seals up close was like which sparked her interest in the science of animal behavior. It was at that point that Allison began pursuing more opportunities to learn about animal behavior and sought out opportunities to practice applying that knowledge when working with animals.
Over the course of her career, Allison has held various positions at a plethora of institutions throughout the country such as Seneca Park Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Pueblo Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Canine Companions for Independence, Animal Sense, and now, Lincoln Park Zoo. Allison came to Lincoln Park Zoo in 2013 and started there as a seal keeper. She was able to continue applying her animal behavior knowledge with the seals as she led the effort to train them for voluntary participation in their own transport, as they were making a move across grounds. She continued honing her skills as a trainer by working with primates, carnivores, and large mammals. It was at that point that Allison got hired as the Zoo’s first Behavioral Husbandry and Enrichment Manager. As the Behavioral Husbandry and Enrichment Manager, she has created a zoo-wide training program with the least intrusive minimally aversive (LIMA) principle in mind and created an enrichment program focused on goal-based, natural behaviors.
She has won the ABMA Poster Presentation Award in 2018 for her work with improving enrichment evaluation by using activity budgets to assess a species-specific enrichment program. Allison is a certified dog behavior consultant (CDBC) through IAABC and a dog trainer (CPDT-KA) through the certification council for professional dog trainers (CCPDT) and has worked as a dog trainer at various times throughout her career.