Dr. Susan Friedman is a leader in the field of applied animal behavior. Her website, www.BehaviorWorks.org, provides a treasure trove of valuable information relating to the application of behavior analysis to improve the behavior and enrich the lives of nonhuman animals living and interacting with people in a variety of settings.
Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. She has helped pioneer the cross-species application of behavior analysis to animals, using the same humane philosophy and scientifically sound teaching technology that has been so effective with human learners. Susan is a steadfast proponent of changing behavior through facilitation rather than force by focusing on animals’ extraordinary biologic capacity to learn. She teaches people how to change the environment for success so that animals learn to behave successfully. Susan teaches two Internet-based courses, Living and Learning with Animals for professionals, and another one for caregivers. Students from 32 different countries have attended her courses so far. She has written chapters in three veterinary texts, and her popular magazine articles have been translated into 12 languages. Susan also blogs for Psychology Today. Susan has given seminars on learning and behavior in more than a dozen countries around the world; at zoo facilities inclduing Assiniboine Zoo, Audubon Zoo, Cheyenne Mt. Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Denver Zoo, Houston Zoo, London Zoo and San Diego Zoo; and at conferences including International Association for Aquarium Animal Medicine, the Association of Avian Veterinarians, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers. In 2012, she was the Keynote Speaker at Karen Pryor’s Clicker Expos and the International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA). Susan was a core member of the now retired US Fish and Wildlife Condor Recovery Team and has been nominated for the Media Award given by the International Association of Behavior Analysis, for disseminating the essential tools people need to empower and enrich the lives of all learners.
Having presented with Susan in the past and having gotten to know her through our shared interests over many years now, I am so pleased to be able to introduce this professional to those who may not yet have encountered her work. Susan brings a depth and breadth of understanding of animal behavior and learning that allows her to move seamlessly into a variety of audiences of different perspectives and come out having changed the behavior of her listeners for the better.
At www.BehaviorWorks.org, readers will find information about her course for animal behavior professionals and for caregivers. There are downloadable forms for use in conducting a functional assessment of behavior problems, and many examples of her written work in applying behavior analysis to animals.
