Dr. Loraine (Lorie) Fernandez has more than 20 years of experience teaching a variety of courses at the college level in both online and traditional learning environments. She received her bachelor of science degree in Zoology and a master of art degree in the experimental analysis of behavior from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA. She received her PhD in experimental psychology with a focus in comparative psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003. Her primary areas of scholarly interests are diverse but broadly address animal learning/cognition and the welfare and behavior of animals housed in captivity. She is specifically interested in the environmental factors that contribute to the quality of life and psychological well-being of animals housed in captivity, particularly with respect to stereotypic or abnormal behavior. Her research has involved a wide variety of animal species including giant pandas, giraffes, great apes, primates, prosimians, and swordtail fish. She has had the privilege of working and conducting research at Zoo Atlanta, the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, China. She is currently a reviewer for two academic, peer- reviewed journals, Zoo Biology and the Journal for Applied Animal Welfare Science. In addition to teaching at Unity, Dr. Fernandez is the mother of two children. Her hobbies and interests include reading, cooking, traveling, fostering dogs and cats for a local rescue (adopt, don’t shop), and spending time with her family.