Drew Foster

Drew is an Animal Curator at the Phoenix Zoo where his goal is to instill some passion for animals and nature in everyone. Drew currently serves as the Chair of the AZA's Annual Conference Program Committee, Secretary of the Lizard Advisory group, the Louisiana Pine Snake Studbook Keeper, an AZA accreditation inspector, and an instructor for the Herpetology of the Southwest course at the American Museum of Natural History's Southwest Research Station. Drew has served on a number of professional panels, presented at numerous professional conferences, published over 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and been awarded numerous scholarships and grants throughout his career.

Drew has long been fascinated by animals and interested in wildlife. His interests were fostered by many memorable visits to zoos as a child. Dave earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from Eastern Illinois University. Since 2005 Drew has worked for AZA accredited facilities, including the Santa Barbara Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, and Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo. In his zoo career, Drew has worked with a wide variety of animals, including all types of reptiles, large carnivores, marine mammals, small mammals, birds, various primates, and more.

Drew has also gained a significant amount of field experience, including radio-telemetry of rat snakes in an agriculturally-fragmented forest habitat in Illinoi, work with the US Forest Service on amphibian conservation in California, and radio-telemetry of desert tortoises with Arizona Game & Fish.