Dr. Zanna Maisel

Dr. Maisel grew up in the woods of Maryland. She volunteered at the local wildlife center in high school, which sparked her interest in animal behavior and veterinary medicine. She graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, focusing on animal learning and behavior. After moving from the East Coast to work on language research with a group of bonobo chimpanzees, Dr. Maisel earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University.

Dr. Maisel’s husband, Edward, works in user experience design at Workiva in Ames, and also receives the credit for bringing cats into her life. They now have four furry felines: Enzo, Dizzy, Eames, and Basqui. They also live with two dogs: Marshall the Labrador Retriever and Otto the Chihuahua/Rat Terrier. In her free time, Dr. Maisel enjoys visiting National Parks, sewing, and training her cats to sit and high five!