Tammie has more than 30 years of experience in the conservation and animal fields. She retired in 2017 as the Animal Operations Director at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. While there, she chaired the Disney Conservation Fund’s Africa Committee for more than a decade. Tammie is an expert on primates and great apes, and has held leadership roles in the International Primatological Society, AZA's Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan, and the sanctuary sector. She was a former board member for Chimp Haven and the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance and helped found the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center for orphaned Grauer's gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Tammie has worked extensively in Uganda on conservation education programs, leading training for educators at the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, chimpanzee trekking guides at Pabidi, and community educators at Bushingiro (Pabidi and Bushingiro are in Budongo Forest). Tammie is especially passionate about working with local communities.