Hello, Everyone!
We have two special guest speakers this month, photographer Patricia Homonylo and zoo veterinarian Chris McKinney, which we know you will enjoy!
We’ll honour our fearless leader, Dr. Anne Innis Dagg (1933-2024) and celebrate her amazing life. Join us as we come together as a group to learn, laugh and share.
PATRICIA HOMONYLO is a photographer and filmmaker based in Toronto, Ontario. Through her photography and filmmaking, she is determined to speak for the most vulnerable animals and give agency to the causes which drive her.
She will do whatever it takes to bring a concept to fruition, so when she was called to advocate for wildlife conservation, it was natural for her to pick up a camera and add to her portfolio of skills. She has used her photographic and filmmaking talents to assist many animal and conservation efforts: The Mad Dog Initiative (Madagascar), Hope for Wildlife, Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Trumpeter Swan Restoration, Great Lakes Cormorants, FLAP and many more.
She has just completed the award-winning film, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE for FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program) Canada.
Patricia achieved her BA in art history (University of Toronto), her BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design, and her MFA (Concordia University, Montreal). While building her fine art career in the alternative gallery system, Patricia returned to Toronto and entered the Film Industry. Along with her active film career, Patricia persisted with her artistic life exhibiting, teaching and studying. Most recently, Patricia graduated from the Documentary Film Institute (Seneca College, Toronto).
Today, Patricia is a contributing member to Creatives for Conservation and WeAnimals.org.
https://www.patriciahomonylophoto.com/
CHRIS MCKINNEY, DVM is the veterinarian for the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY. Before deciding he wanted to be a veterinarian, Dr. McKinney pursued a degree in zoology with plans to become a zookeeper. After a zoo keeping internship that involved working with the veterinarian he learned that he really enjoyed that aspect of caring for animals and started on the pre-veterinary track in addition to zoology.
After veterinary school at the University of Minnesota, Dr. McKinney moved to Binghamton, NY to work at an animal hospital caring for dogs, cats, exotic pets, wild animals, and worked on zoo animals at the Binghamton Zoo. He returned to school at Tuft’s University and obtained a Master’s degree in Conservation Medicine studying White Nose Syndrome in bats. After this, he continued to work with pets and wildlife and assisted at the Buffalo Zoo and Seneca Park Zoo. After 12 years as a veterinarian, he was then lucky enough to be hired as the full time veterinarian for the Seneca Park Zoo. At Seneca Park Zoo, Dr. McKinney oversees the health of all the animals from the small lizards and rodents to the elephants and giraffes. He also gets to assist the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with local wildlife conservation projects.
Not a member of the Junior Giraffe Club? Join today and enjoy this together with us!