Maddie's Candid Conversation with Dr. Jyothi Robertson Artwork

Maddie's Candid Conversations

Join us for revealing conversations with influential animal welfare leaders, hosted by Maddie's Fund executive leader, Mary Ippoliti-Smith. You'll be inspired by each speaker’s pathway to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in their daily work with animals and the shelter staff who support homeless pets. When we respect and appreciate the journeys our community members have taken, we are reminded of the importance of keeping pets and people together.

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Maddie's Candid Conversations

Maddie's Candid Conversation with Dr. Jyothi Robertson

June 02, 2022 • Maddie was a beloved Miniature Schnauzer whose unconditional love, loyalty and spirit inspired a revolution in animal welfare. Dave & Cheryl Duffield started Maddie's Fund in 1994 to help pets and the people who love them. Learn more @ maddiesfund.org • Season 1 • Episode 3

Internationally recognized as a specialist in animal shelter medicine, Dr. Robertson examines societal and race dynamics that influence policy choices that impact access to veterinary care and the overall success of lifesaving efforts.

Her most recent passion project has been the development of Journey You Own, a platform for weaving spirituality and awareness through highlighting social injustice, animal welfare, the climate crisis, and education reform.

In this discussion with Maddie's Fund Executive Leadership Team member Mary Ippoliti-Smith, Dr. Robertson postulates how different fields (environment, education, etc.) are interwoven, and that relying on an animal-centric focus keeps us from examining some of the systemic, root causes of the issues we face. Her focus on how to bring new conversations to animal welfare that lead to more diversity, inclusion and equity will offer a fresh perspective on how an individual may face multiple types of overlapping discrimination and how that affects our work and success.