2nd Annual Jamie DeRita Rodriguez Memorial Animal Protection Symposium

Description

This symposium honors the life of Jamie DeRita Rodriguez, who passed away in June 2020.

DeRita Rodriguez was the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing's (CAAT) event coordinator from 2012-2018, and she was known to many of the center's friends and colleagues for her tireless work on CAAT's many meetings, conferences, and symposia over the years.

DeRita Rodriguez was famous throughout the Maryland shelter and animal welfare communities as someone who could not say no to helping any animal that needed a home. She was known to regularly pick up animals she saw in her daily travels and to work non-stop to find them perfect homes. Her CAAT family will honor her with a series of presentations about the center's deep relationship with animals and adoption of laboratory animals, with brief testimonials from family and friends interspersed throughout the event.

Speakers will include Martin Stephens (senior scientist, CAAT), Ellie Hansen (writer, animal advocate, and founder and CEO of Lovable Pets, Inc.) and Amy Fultz (director of behavior and research, Chimp Haven, The National Chimpanzee Sanctuary).

Learn more about the event and speakers online.