Dr. M is a veterinarian at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Seas with Nemo and Friends in Orlando, Florida. Working at Disney gives her the opportunity to be a veterinarian for a wide variety of animals in both the terrestrial and aquatic realms where she divides her time equally.

She received her Masters and veterinary degree at the University of Illinois. As a Chicago native, she was lucky to have worked at Lincoln Park Zoo, John G. Shedd Aquarium and Brookfield Zoo prior to heading to Disney. She spends a lot of focused time on clinical research with a lot of attention on applied diagnostic techniques for her patients (imaging and blood correlation with disease). Clinical medicine fuels her and she loves to broaden medicine by using techniques with zoo animals and extrapolating to aquatics. She is the veterinary chair for GRACE (Gorilla rehabilitation and conservation) and for SharkRay360 (conservation of bowmouth guitarfish) and is also a part of the Gibbon SSP.

Dr. Stephen works globally with all levels of government, the non-profit sector, community groups, universities and industry on health issues at the nexus of people, animals and environments. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to the development of One Health and in modernizing approaches to wildlife health. He consults internationally on strategic development of wildlife health and One Health programs to address the growing polycrisis. This work has been recognized through his election as Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Craig is a veterinarian and epidemiologist who acts as the director of the McEachran Institute, a Canadian non-profit dedicated to provoking disruptive thinking about policy and practices that protect animals, health, and society in a rapidly changing future. 

Dr. Laura St Clair is currently the third-year Zoological Medicine Resident at Cornell University. She is originally from Boise, Idaho, and attended Colorado State University for her undergraduate degree in Zoology. She obtained her veterinary degree from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2020, before completing a Small Animal rotating internship at Oradell Animal Hospital in New Jersey. After her rotating internship, Dr. St Clair returned to Cornell University for her specialty internship in zoological medicine. She continued her career at Cornell for her residency in zoological medicine, which she will complete in July. During her residency Dr. St Clair has been fortunate enough to spend time at many places, including the Belize Zoo, Wildlife Safari, National Aquarium, The Wilds, Columbus Zoo, and Philadelphia Zoo. Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. St Clair enjoys hiking, exploring the National Parks, crocheting, and spending time with friends, family, and her husband, dog, and rabbit. 

Kevin is a veterinary pathologist at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and has been in that position for 12 years.  For the previous ten years, he was a wildlife pathologist at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) at the University of Georgia.  Kevin received an M.S. in wildlife biology and a D.V.M. from the University of Georgia.  His residency in anatomic pathology was completed at U.C. Davis. He then went on to receive a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Arizona.  Kevin’s research interests have most often been a product of his pathology service, and they are focused on infectious diseases of wildlife species.  Recent research topics include chronic wasting disease of deer, canine distemper virus in carnivores, marine mammal morbilliviruses, the pathogenesis of white-nose syndrome of bats, and chlamydiosis in raptors. He is particularly interested in the anthropogenic factors that drive emerging infectious diseases of wildlife, domestic animals and humans.  Since he was first exposed to wildlife disease research in 1990, the rate of disease emergence in wildlife seems to have increased steadily.  Such changes are usually correlated with human activities.  Understanding these relationships and securing public support in countering the emergence of infectious diseases are critical to mitigating their impacts.

Dr. Cindy Hopf-Dennis is originally from Western Massachusetts. She received her DVM from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2015, completed a small animal rotating internship at Oklahoma State University from 2015-2016, and moved to NY in 2016 and completed an internship then residency in zoological medicine at Cornell University. She is a board-certified member of the American College of Zoological Medicine. She is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital at Cornell University. Her interests include clinically applicable research including avian orthopedics, avian rehabilitation, and the investigation of diagnostic testing and treatment for commonly seen wildlife diseases including West Nile Virus, sarcoptic mange, and anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in birds of prey. She enjoys every opportunity to advocate for and treat wildlife as well as to educate students, and veterinarians in the field of wildlife medicine. She loves to spend her time with her two beautiful hound dogs, her husband, and anything involving exercise or gardening.

Graduated from NCSU CVM in 2005 after spending as much time as I could with the Turtle Rescue Team. Became the first, full-time veterinarian for Dickerson Park Zoo for two years before becoming the first full-time veterinarian for the South Carolina Aquarium (SCA) with its sea turtle rescue program. Spent fourteen years building the sea turtle and veterinary medical program at SCA which progressed from a microscope in a closet to an award-winning hospital with CT, digital radiography, cryotherapy, ultrasound, etc. I have been working with the Turtle Survival Alliance since 2001 which included duties like the veterinarian for the Turtle Survival Center and several years of field work in Belize with the Hicatee turtle. I did three “tours” of duty during the BP Horizon oil spill on sea turtles, and I consult with my friends on their sea turtle efforts around the globe. I went to the United Arab Emirates in 2021 to help my friends open Sea World Abu Dhabi and returned in 2023 to try to fill the shoes of the great one, Dr. Terry Norton, at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, after his retirement from the center.

Dr. Marcela Uhart is a wildlife veterinarian with 30 years of experience in free-ranging wildlife health research and conservation across Latin America, with a particular focus on marine mammals and seabirds. She serves as the Director of the Latin America Program at the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Based in Patagonia, Argentina, Dr. Uhart specializes in addressing health challenges facing free-ranging wildlife, including the impacts of infectious diseases, toxins, and human interactions. Her work is grounded in a One Health approach, emphasizing the interconnected health of wildlife, humans, and ecosystems. She enjoys reading, hiking, and being at sea.

Laura Whalen, DVM, CertAqV obtained her BS in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina (2015) and DVM from the University of Tennessee (2022). She worked as a dolphin and California sea lion trainer for the Navy Marine Mammal Program in San Diego, CA and Kings Bay, GA prior to beginning veterinary school. While in veterinary school, Dr. Whalen completed clinical rotations at the Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld San Diego, and the National Aquarium. Dr. Whalen completed a small animal rotating internship at Pieper Veterinary in Middletown, CT. During this time, she completed rotations at Mystic Aquarium and Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. She started as the Veterinary Intern in Aquatic Animal Medicine and Research at Mystic Aquarium in July 2023, where she is currently in her second year of specialty training with plans to work as a veterinarian in an aquarium. 

Dr. Sara Childs-Sanford is a wildlife veterinarian at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where she oversees the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital and is Section Chief of Wildlife Medicine. A Cornell vet school alum with a master’s degree in animal nutrition and board certification by the American College of Zoological Medicine, she teaches and mentors veterinary students and graduate veterinarians in wildlife medicine. Dr. Childs’ varied research is designed to improve patient outcomes, explore wildlife disease trends, and provide evidence-based solutions to wildlife medicine and management practices.

Dr. Melissa Joblon has been the Director of Animal Health at New England Aquarium since May 2023 and was the Associate Veterinarian at NEAQ for five years prior. She received her DVM from Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in 2016, then completed a two-year specialty internship in Aquatic Medicine and Research at Mystic Aquarium. In the fall of 2023, Dr. Joblon passed the exam to become a Board-Certified Specialist in Zoological MedicineTM through the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM). In her current role, Dr. Joblon manages the veterinary program at NEAQ, overseeing the medical care of a wide range of taxa including invertebrates, fish, reptiles, amphibians, penguins, and marine mammals, as well as sea turtles admitted through the NEAQ Animal Rescue Program. Dr. Joblon also performs clinical and wildlife conservation research, presents at professional conferences, and teaches multiple courses and seminars. She currently serves on the Right Whale Conservation Committee at NEAQ, providing clinical and welfare expertise to help protect the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. In addition, she is actively involved in the AZA SAFE programs for sharks, rays and sea turtles, the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for African penguins, and serves as a veterinary consultant for the Whale and Dolphin Conservancy (WDC) marine mammal stranding program. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, snowboarding, surfing, and travelling. 

Dr. Bill Ryerson is a comparative anatomist with research interests in the biomechanics, behavior, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. He has a BS in Marine Science from the University of Maine, a MS in Integrative Biology from the University of South Florida, and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut. He has worked with animals ranging in size from frog tadpoles to saltwater crocodiles but the bulk of his work is with salamanders, turtles, and snakes. His current work focuses on two major areas of reptile biology: anatomy, biomechanics, and behavior of feeding; and the impacts of headstarting and captivity on amphibian and reptile anatomy and behavior.