Conservation & Science Staff Bios

Education

• Post-Doctoral Fellow – Responses to Inequity in Squirrel and Owl Monkeys, Georgia State University
• Ph.D. – Chimpanzee Personality, University of Texas at Austin
• B.A. – Biology and Psychology, University of Denver

Areas of Expertise

• Chimpanzee personality
• Chimpanzee behavior
• Animal welfare
• Behavioral endocrinology

About Hani Freeman:

Hani received her B.A. in biology and psychology from the University of Denver in 2003. She worked for two years as a research assistant in the lab of William Hopkins, Ph.D., at Yerkes National Research Primate Center, studying handedness, gesture and vocal communication in chimpanzees. During her time there, she saw consistent differences in how chimpanzees interacted with each other and with humans and became interested in understanding personality in chimpanzees.

She got her Ph.D. in personality and social psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010, working with Sam Gosling, Ph.D. Her dissertation focused on the development and validation of a chimpanzee personality-rating scale using a variety of approaches and methods, including behavior, endocrinology, physiology and injury and illness data.

During graduate school she also worked on personality projects with different species, including humans and cheetahs, work that had implications for health and well-being. After completing her doctorate, Hani worked as a post-doctoral fellow investigating responses to inequity in squirrel and owl monkeys with Sarah Brosnan, Ph.D., at Georgia State University.

Hani is now a post-doctoral fellow at Lincoln Park Zoo’s Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes. She’s the project coordinator for Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCARE, working with project developer Steve Ross, Ph.D. The main goal of this initiative is to improve the well-being of chimpanzees in the United States, particularly those living as pets, performers and in other private housing. Hani is currently working on a multi-institutional study of ex-pet/ex-performer chimpanzees living in zoos and sanctuaries throughout the United States.