The Pondcast, Episode 68
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Anthony Pierlioni, Chris Leone, Kevin Minto and Steve Enders
with special guest Viviana Ricardez, Texas Turtles
TheTurtleRoom brings you the The Pondcast, Episode 68: Deep in the Heart of Texas. An audio-only version is also available for download. Visit ThePondcast.com to learn more about the show.
In This Episode...
Viviana Ricardez is the Vice President of the non-profit research organization Texas Turtles. Viviana joins our hosts to talk about all the cool things Texas Turtles is doing to study turtles and her background going from “90s turtle nerd” to a leading expert on the turtles of Texas. The goal of Texas Turtles is to “fill a Texas-sized hole in our knowledge of Texas turtles including studying the ‘Paul Bunyan’ of North American turtles, the Alligator Snapping Turtle”. You can learn more about their exciting work at https://www.texasturtles.org/support-1
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About the Authors
Anthony Pierlioni
Anthony was the "Best of 2017" Editor's Choice for "Chelonia Personality of the Year" by The Reptile Report. As the Senior Director of theTurtleRoom, Anthony oversees educational efforts, including video and audio media production, like The Pondcast. Anthony has also written a book on the Geoemyda genus, published by Living Art Publishing as part of their “Turtles of the World” series, and several articles in magazines such as including REPTILES, The BATAGUR, Testudo (Italian), and RADIATA (German).
Anthony has a B.A. from Rhode Island College and works in management for VCA Animal Hospitals. He lives in the Northeast with his wife, Shannon, and daughters, Cambria and Maddalena. He and his family are often on the move, giving turtle presentations at schools, nature and science centers, herpetological societies and conferences.
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Chris Leone
Chris is the Director of Animal Husbandry for theTurtleRoom and owner of Garden State Tortoise. He has kept and bred turtles and tortoises for nearly 30 years. Chris is also an author, speaker and presenter concerning chelonian species and their care. He maintains long-standing relationships with fish and wildlife agencies, zoos, and organizations while handling many of New Jersey’s rescues concerning unwanted turtles and tortoises. Along with his wife Casey, he started the Terrapin Conservation Initiative, one of theTurtleRoom's field programs. Chris is also the coordinator for the Western Hermann’s Tortoise North American Regional Studbook. Chris devotes much of his life to caring for these animals, traveling to educate others about them and remains prominent on social media.
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Steve Enders
Steve is the President, Executive Director, and Founder of theTurtleRoom (tTR), a husband, teacher, athlete, and musician. He has over a decade and a half of experience with turtle husbandry and has worked with more than 50 different species. As President and Executive Director, Steve has overall strategic and operational responsibility for tTR’s staff, programs, finances, expansion, and execution/achievement of its mission and goals. He also takes on leadership and assistant roles on individual projects within the four departments of tTR. Steve completed his Master of Education Degree in Mathematics in 2018 and holds two Bachelor of Art Degrees in Music and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate (the equivalent of a third Bachelor’s degree). When Steve is not working on projects for tTR, he can be found teaching, relaxing with his wife Lisa, watching sports, playing music, or building LEGO Star Wars.
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