Erika Bauer, Ph.D.

Dr. Erika Bauer is the Director of Animal Wellbeing at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). She is responsible for implementing AZA’s Strategic Framework for the Wellbeing of Animals, and engaging with the AZA community on initiatives related to animal welfare and wellbeing. She manages the publication of AZA Animal Care Manuals, Ambassador Animal Guidelines, and Species Welfare Indicator Guides, oversees AZA’s Animal Care and Wellbeing Grants Fund program, promotes progress on AZA’s Animal Wellbeing Research Agenda and supports the AZA Accreditation Commission in the review of standards related to animal wellbeing. Erika is also the staff liaison to AZA’s Animal Health and Animal Welfare Committees. Erika has a Ph.D. and MS in Biopsychology (focused on animal behavior) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a BS in Biology from John Carroll University.

More than 20 years of experience in the zoo field informs Erika’s perspective. She has served in many of the key roles that directly impact the lives of zoo animals including zookeeper, curator, researcher, and welfare inspector. Her animal management expertise is with Asian carnivores (specifically sloth bears, giant pandas, clouded leopards, fishing cats, Asian small-clawed otters, and red pandas), and her behavioral research projects have included those species as well as chimpanzees, bonobos, elephants, giant Pacific octopus, cuttlefish, and domestic dogs among others. Prior to entering the zoo field, she worked as a science and technology policy graduate fellow at the National Academies of Science and contributed to the development of their 2009 report on Learning Science in Informal Environments.