Gretchen E. Kaufman

As a wildlife veterinarian and One Health educator, I have devoted my career to conservation medicine, hoping to improve the lives and the futures of our most endangered animals. In 2012 I co-founded the non-profit organization VIEW (Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife) with Dr Deborah McCauley, dedicated to building wildlife health capacity in countries that need it the most. I have also held a number of academic positions including the Assistant Director for Global Health Education and Training at the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health at Washington State University ; and the Director of the Tufts Center for Conservation Medicine at Tufts University. At Tufts, I developed the unique interdisciplinary Masters Program in Conservation Medicine.

For the last 15 years I have conducted international veterinary medical research and capacity building projects working with university, governmental and non-governmental wildlife conservation organizations globally. In Nepal, I helped the national veterinary school create a wildlife and conservation medicine masters course and mentored many American and Nepalese veterinary students in public health and wildlife research projects. I also worked with Elephant Care International to establish a government endorsed Nepal Elephant Healthcare and TB Surveillance Program.

My mission is to promote inclusion of wildlife health in endangered species conservation efforts and the need to seek sustainable solutions to global health challenges facing the world today. I strongly defend the protection of biodiversity as a fundamental key to the health of the planet and all life that benefits from it and continue to pursue and support the practice of conservation medicine.

August 2016