Shelly Lynn Williams has a B.S. in Psychology & Biology, a M.A. in Clinical-Experimental Psychology and a PhD in Biopsychology & Primatology. She has been involved with researching many different aspects of primates since 1984. She also has spoken at numerous lectures, presentations and has written many articles on the subject. In addition, she went on scientific missions to the Central Congo Basin to study indigenous ape species. While there, she collected DNA specimens for analysis and studied human-raised chimpanzees. Shelly has also specialized in small animal neurosurgical training.