This month we’ll chat with Wendy Hapgood about her work saving wild spaces as co-founder of Wild Tomorrow. We’ll also learn about Dr. Dale Smith’s career as a veterinarian and professor, teaching in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Rwanda and Canada.

WENDY HAPGOOD is the co-founder of Wild Tomorrow, a wildlife conservation charity based both in NYC and South Africa, working to save and restore threatened habitat for wildlife. Wild Tomorrow is creating a wildlife corridor to connect wild space on South Africa’s “Elephant Coast” for the benefit of many threatened African animals including elephants, rhinos, and of course giraffe!

Wendy left her corporate banking career to instead dedicate her life to the protection of nature and the environment. It was the urgency of climate change that first propelled her to quit her job in 2015, complete a Masters Degree in Sustainability Management at Columbia University, and launch Wild Tomorrow together with her husband John Steward.

Wendy also teaches Sustainability Management at Columbia University, where she is helping to inspire the next generation of stewards for our planet. 

DR. DALE SMITH is a Canadian veterinarian who has spent her career working with all sorts of different animals. She started veterinary school with the intention of going into regular practice with dogs, cats, and maybe horses, but somewhere along the line she decided that something more exotic was in the plans!

After completing veterinary school, Dr. Smith spent four years doing specialized training in pathology (the study of disease) and looking after animals at the Toronto Zoo. When she finished she packed her bag and she and her husband moved to Zimbabwe in Africa. She taught veterinary medicine there for two years, and then the two of them spent a full year driving up through Africa in a Landrover and seeing wildlife in many countries.

Dr. Smith finally ended up full circle back at the University of Guelph in Canada teaching veterinary students at the Ontario Veterinary College all about animals that weren't dogs, cats, or farm animals and helping to train them to work with wildlife, exotic pets, and zoo animals.

Dr. Smith has travelled back to Africa a number of times to help teach a course on capture of wildlife in Zimbabwe and to assist with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project in Uganda and Rwanda.

She is now retired and living in Guelph, but still keeps involved with her students and with programs in Africa.