Gail Melson

Dr. Melson speaks frequently at conferences, workshops, and meetings for a variety of audiences—scholars, educators, therapists, students, parents and the general public.  Recent invited lectures, workshops and keynote addresses include:

Play in comparative perspective: Children and other animals. Keynote address to The Association for the Study of Play (TASP). San Antonio, TX. (March 6, 2015).


Animals in the lives of children. Hilliard Series lecture. Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Services. Crotched Mountain, NH. (2012).

Why the wild things are: Animals in the lives of children. Sussman award address to Groves Conference, Seattle, WA. (2010). 

Why the wild things are: A bio-centric approach to child development. Address to Conference on animal-assisted therapy. David Yellin College, Jerusalem, Israel. (2009). 

Animals in children's lives: A biocentric approach to child development. Address to Workshop on The Roots of Kindness: The role of animals in child development and empathy formation. University of Denver. (2009). 

Children and companion animals. Plenary address to the International Conference on Human-Animal Interactions, Tokyo, Japan. (2007). 

Animals in the lives of children. Address to Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan. (2007).

Why children need animals. Keynote address to Conference on Humane Education. Green Chimneys, Brewster, NY (2007). 

Lectures & Workshops