Author: Ashley Sullivan

Hope in Action The power of a single story is immeasurable. When a young 26 year old woman from England traveled to Tanzania to study wild animals and share their stories, she transformed our understanding of our relationship to non-human animals, and what was possible for a woman in science, or in general. The reverberations of her story have echoed endlessly and caused the emergence of millions of other bold, unstoppable women. In Honor of the Jane Goodall Institute’s 40th anniversary, the Hope in Action campaign calls upon people everywhere who have been inspired in some way by Dr. Goodall’s…

What compels us about the narrative of a young woman entering into an unknown jungle to discover a world of primates, so much like ourselves? It is the realization of our ultimate connection to these beings; a learned respect for something within great apes and all those derived from this shared earthly and ancient evolutionary chain that is so precious. This story – Dr. Jane Goodall’s story of a kinship with chimpanzees and all animals – holds a similar attention and fascination for people around the world as another story of apes for the same reasons:The Planet of the Apes.…

The Paris Agreement represents an unprecedented collaboration among nations who choose to work together to address climate change in their own countries and globally. Dr. Jane Goodall participated in the 21st Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on Climate Change in Paris and, at that time, she called on each of us to take action ourselves to protect our natural world. Amidst all of the evidence and already occurring changes, threatening all living things in the oceans and on land (including humans), the Trump Administration is set on withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. In response to this, we must…

In a landscape of impassioned people fighting battles everyday for what is right, this week we can accept victory. The Humane Society of the United States has, after two years of dedication along with a coalition of dedicated individuals and organizations, come to a multi-million-dollar agreement with the New York Blood Center (NYBC) in the care of more than 60 chimpanzees in Liberia. As an organization founded by Dr. Jane Goodall, we believe every individual animal matters, and for these 60 chimpanzees who have endured enough, this means everything. We are proud to have been a part of this collaboration for…

At 18, many might be able to claim that they were involved in a number of clubs, perhaps won a number of awards, but Mady, however, can claim different kinds of successes! Mady Eori, is 18 years old, a sophomore at Boston University and a member of the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots. A double major in environmental science and biology with a specialization in ecology and conservation, Mady has been working to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment for years. When Mady realized that turtles were in trouble, she took action. WHAT MADY CARES ABOUT She…

Internationally, chimpanzees and other great apes are used as props in television, film, circuses, roadside attractions, as pets and as social media share-able content. This cruel business removes chimps from their mothers at an early age, puts them into torturous training programs, asks them to perform unnatural acts, and eventually tosses these beautiful, highly social and perceptive animals aside when they are too large or aggressive to manage. The YouTube video or advertisement of a chimp in a tuxedo may seem like a fun time for the animal, but is in fact a highly stressful and potentially painful and traumatizing…

Hope in Action The power of a single story is immeasurable. When a young 26 year old woman from England traveled to Tanzania to study wild animals and share their stories, she transformed our understanding of our relationship to non-human animals, and what was possible for a woman in science, or in general. The reverberations of her story have echoed endlessly and caused the emergence of millions of other bold, unstoppable women. In Honor of the Jane Goodall Institute’s 40th anniversary, the Hope in Action campaign calls upon people everywhere who have been inspired in some way by Dr. Goodall’s message…

There has been a lot of fancy footwork lately of the activist sort, and it’s a very good thing. Beginning with the record setting Women’s March (with participation estimated at 5 million worldwide) this past January – to support policies which are in line with basic human rights, women’s rights, healthcare access and reform, environmental protection, LGBTQIA rights, racial equity, freedom of religion, immigrant rights and worker’s rights – people on every continent have been invigorated to gather and demonstrate their will to join with one another in the name of what they are passionate about. The People’s Climate March, which began…

“Climate change.” When reading those words you may imagine a flaming planet, Al Gore and a projection screen, or polar bears slipping off of fragmenting icebergs. It has become such a commonly used phrase that it has almost lost its meaning – and more disappointingly, it seems to not fully explain the magnitude of the problem. Luckily, this use also means that it is being talked about more and more – from films, in the news, in interviews – and major players are stepping up to not only solidify that it is absolutely happening (It is a scientific consensus) but…

It is no coincidence that throughout human history, many of the greatest thinkers – Aristotle, Isaac Newton, for example – were also exceptional observers of the world through physics and astronomy. The connection between philosophical explanations of the nature of humanity and our universal position has always been tightly bound. To understand best what it means to live on earth as a human being along with all of this world’s other creatures, we must fundamentally acknowledge that, as Carl Sagan put it, “The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.” So what would happen if access…