Credentials

Education
B.A. University of California San Diego,
Biological Anthropology (1997)

Professional Career
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Safari Park:
Senior Wildlife Care Specialist (2006-2022)

Science Applications International Corporation:
Senior Trainer (1998-2002)
Subcontracted with Navy Marine Mammal Program

Intuitive Animal Communication Training:
(2007-present, in various degrees of focused study)

Formal Classes with Professional Animal Communicators:
Lea Alexander, Marta Williams, Nancy Windheart, Joanne Yeoh

Also Influenced by books and materials of:
Amelia Kincade, Dr. Cara Gubbins, Karen Anderson, Lisa Fraley

Research:
(Various field and lab contexts for academic and professional projects.)

• S.A.I.C., Navy Marine Mammal Program, 1998-2002. Worked on multiple bio-acoustics and cognitive studies for U.S. Navy and U.C.S.C.
• U.C.S.D., Nahal Tillah Archeological Field School, Israel, 1996. Excavations and processing of artifacts from Egyptian tomb, lithics production and trade site, circa 3300 – 3000 B.C., Negev Desert, Israel.
• K.B.M.M.L., Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory, Oahu, Hawaii, 1991. Data collection, husbandry and operant conditioning of dolphins at cognition-language lab, Dr. Louis Herman.
• P.A.R.D., Preservation of the Amazonian River Dolphin, Peru, 1989. Field observation and behavioral data collection of Inia geoffrensis.

Peer-reviewed Publications:
Helweg, D.A., Moore, P.W.B., Dankiewicz, L.A., Zafran, J.M., and Brill, R.L.
(2003) “Discrimination of complex synthetic echoes by an echolocating bottlenose  dolphin“, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 1138-1144.

Dankiewicz, L.A., Helweg, D.A., Moore, P.W., and Zafran, J.M.
(2002) “Discrimination of amplitude-modulated synthetic echo trains by an echolocating bottlenose dolphin”, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 112, 1702-1708.

Abstracts/Presentations:
Zafran, J.M. (2014) “Taming Through Training- Teaching a naïve black rhino how to learn,” I.M.A.T.A. San Diego, Regional Meeting (abstract and presentation).

Kastak, D., Dankiewicz, L., Schusterman, R.J., and Zafran, J. (2001) “Visual discrimination reversals and learning set in two bottlenose dolphins,” Animal Behavior
Society 2001 Annual Meeting (abstract).

Dankiewicz, L.A., Zafran, J.M., Kamolnick, T., Helweg, D.A., and Moore, P.W.B.
(2001) “Training an echolocating dolphin (Tursiops truncates) to discriminate electronically-generated echoes,”
I.M.A.T.A. Annual Meeting (abstract and presentation).

Acknowledged:
Altes, R.A., Dankiewicz, L.A., Moore, P.W., and Helweg, D.A. (2003) “Multiecho
processing by an echolocating dolphin,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 114, 1155-1166.

Brill, R.L., Moore, P.W.B., Helweg, D.A., and Dankiewicz, L.A. (2001) “Investigating the dolphin’s peripheral hearing system: Acoustic sensitivity about the head and lower jaw,” SSC San Diego Technical Report 1865.