Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom…but you may already know that! What you may not know is that they are incredibly unique, dynamic, and that we learn more from them every single day. Every year on July 14th, we celebrate our great ape cousins by honoring all the ways that they are innately valuable, essential to ecosystems, and deserve our respect. This year, Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute global chapters are sending out a Pant-Hoot (chimpanzee calling) to celebrate chimpanzees and use our voices to stand up for our closest living relatives! World…
Author: Ashley Sullivan
Ashley Sullivan
Ashley Sullivan is the Director of Storytelling & Marketing for Communications & Partnerships at the Jane Goodall Institute USA, where she works to connect individuals with Dr. Jane Goodall's vision, and the JGI mission to create a better world for all by protecting the interconnections between people, other animals, and the environment. Ashley graduated Stony Brook University with a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology and a minor in Biology, and is pursuing a Master's of Science in Environmental Science & Policy at Johns Hopkins University with a focus on Environmental Justice. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, now a D.C. resident, she has a varied background including 10+ years of expert communications and digital marketing in the social and environmental non-profit sector. Her intersectional approach to this work has been shaped by a holistic world-view, having traveled to Madagascar and Ecuador for conservation research projects, leading communications for youth social justice filmmaking organizations, and as a part of several professional groups advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in environmental spaces including Greens REALIGN. With skills ranging from conservation fieldwork, policy and advocacy campaigns, strategic communications, art, digital media, and design, Ashley believes in sharing information to empower and in the magic of storytelling to transform hearts and minds. Through growing understanding, empathy, and justice, she is igniting positive change to create that better, more equitable world, every day.
Happy Spring/almost Summer Roots & Shoots fam! Spring is such a special time for us here at the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots as we celebrate Jane’s birthday, Earth Month, graduations, and the beginning so many inspiring changes! This month, we’re so excited to celebrate a planet-friendly Roots & Shoots Project of the Month and the amazing group behind it. This month’s Project of the Month is “Earth Day Virtual Assembly for Banyan Elementary” out of Newbury Park, CA! This project was created by the Banyan Roots & Shoots Club created at Banyan Elementary School! As COVID-19 presents as a challenge…
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Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, has been a phenomenon in the fields of animal behavioral research, conservation, and activism for decades and now has the great honor of being the Templeton Prize laureate for 2021.The Templeton Prize honors individuals whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton’s philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it. Dr. Goodall has always lived at the intersection of humanity’s greatest philosophical question, ‘What does it mean to be human as…
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Dr. Goodall’s long-awaited next book will be a tribute to what fuels her boundless mission to make the world a better place – her reasons for hope. Celadon Books announced that Dr. Goodall’s “The Book of Hope” will be published on October 19, 2021. The project is a collaboration with Doug Abrams, author of the bestselling “The Book of Joy,” and comes 60 years after the celebrated scientist and activist began her ground-breaking research of chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania. In the book, Jane focuses on her “Reasons for Hope,” which include the Human Intellect, the Resilience of Nature, the Power…
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This Earth Day, Dr. Goodall shares her reflections on the state of the planet and why we must each make Earth Day every day. Watch and share her message below! Thoughts on Earth Day from the Jane Goodall Institute On this Earth Day, we at JGI are thinking a lot about how precious and beautiful the tapestry of life on Earth is, and how fragile. A pale blue dot floating in the vastness of space and somehow filled with every variety of incredible biodiversity of life and all human existence, past and present. With this reflection, it is so clear…
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At JGI, we’ve been using Jane’s approach to center the needs of human communities in our conservation efforts for decades. Dr. Lilian Pintea, vp of conservation science at JGI, has helped shape this work through the innovative use of science and technology, providing new pathways for powerful impact. Community-driven conservation is complex and requires commitment and partnerships, from local communities to scientists and policymakers to get it right and achieve positive change. It is through these efforts and lens that threats like deforestation are met with solutions that are more profound than just planting trees, and instead provide tools to…
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On April 3rd, 2021, we celebrate the 87th birthday of Dr. Jane Goodall, a woman who for over 60 years has inspired and motivated millions of people around the globe to live in greater harmony with nature and to take action on behalf of the planet we share. On this special occasion, we recognize the unique legacy of Dr. Goodall’s scientific breakthroughs and courageous leadership which have led to positive changes in policies and attitudes, benefitting animals, humankind, and global ecosystems. Compelled by Dr. Goodall’s mission to live sustainably and with compassion, we look with new hope for a brighter,…
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Have you met Perrine and Zeze? One of the most rewarding things about JGI’s Tchimpounga sanctuary is that rescued, orphaned chimpanzees are given and entirely new life with fellow rescued chimpanzees. These dynamics are truly unique and profoundly inspiring to watch. In Tchimpounga sanctuary, there are two very special little chimpanzees who are providing the JGI staff a whole new world of inspiration and joy. Arriving to JGI’s Tchimpounga sanctuary in December 2019 and February 2020, these young chimpanzees were heartbreakingly taken from the wild for the illegal pet trade. Tiny Perrine had been orphaned and was being held in…
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On this World Wildlife Day, you may be thinking of the most iconic animals you’ve seen either in person or in stunning photography and films. These images shape our imagination and fill us with boundless wonder – but they also remind us how precious and majestic the wildlife we share our world with are. Most of all, however, it must remind us that in order to keep these interconnected and magical beings Forever wild #4EverWild, we must each take action, every single day. The illegal trade in wildlife threatens species like chimpanzees and other great apes with extinction – it…
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Zoonotic diseases have now become one of the most talked about issues of our time. Why? Because the current COVID-19 pandemic is most likely a direct result of a zoonotic spillover event – a passage of non-human animal disease to humans. And this is not the first-time humankind has faced this kind of spread, and unfortunately, unless we take proactive and progressive steps, it may not be the last.At the Jane Goodall Institute, we have been at the forefront of addressing this issue by providing strategic and integrated programs that improve human and wildlife wellbeing since the beginning. The interdependence of the health of the environment, people, and other animals has always been fundamental to what we call our ‘Tacare,’ community-led…
