Matt Schmit
 
Matt Schmit has been involved in aviculture since 1987.  He began his interest in birds as a curious 12 year old when a retired parrot breeder moved in next door with a small collection of his most prized birds.  By the age of fifteen, Matt was working with a small collection of Neophema parakeets and Estrilid finches.  In addition to his personal collection, he began working for a local aviculturist who owned a retail pet store and began hand-rearing many of the baby parrots hatched from the aviary.  
 
He received his Bachelors of Science in Zoology, with emphasis on animal behavior and wildlife nutrition, from Washington State University.  While earning his degree, Matt began working at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium as a zookeeper, working with birds, reptiles, small and large mammals.  After graduating, Matt joined the bird department at the Houston Zoo in December of 1999, where he has spent the last several  years working with a very diverse collection of birds. 

Although he has experience with many different species, Matt's avicultural interests center on lories.  For this reason he has chosen to focus the majority of his personal collection on this group of birds.
 
Matt is a member of the American Federation of Aviculture, the American Lory Society, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the Avicultural Society of America, and the Hanging Parrot and Fig Parrot International Conservancy.  Matt frequently attends national and international avicultural conferences and has presented papers at a variety of conferences including the Association of Avian Veterinarians and American Federation of Aviculture, Inc.
 
Matt can be contacted via e-mail at aves75@loriinae.com.

Howard Hammack assists Matt in all aspects of the aviary, and handles many of the business functions of the aviary, including database management, bookkeeping, and marketing.

Howard also serves as the webmaster of Loriinae.com, which began as a graduate project for the University of Phoenix, Houston Campus.  Howard obtained a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in e-Business from UOP in June 2003.

In addition to website design, Howard also spends his spare time freelancing as a consultant, creating custom database solutions for a local small business.

Howard can be reached via e-mail at howardhammack@oddpost.com.