Pass-it-Forward Recipients
Joe Gaydos
For our third Pass It Forward honoree, Ginny Broadhurst has selected Joe Gaydos of Seadoc Society. Ginny nominated Joe in part because as she puts it he is “one of the few scientists I know who can get people excited about the natural world and increase their stewardship because of that.” Ginny also notes his generous, highly capable and inspiring qualities.
Joe Gaydos is a wildlife veterinarian and is the Chief Scientist for the SeaDoc Society, a science-based marine conservation program of the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center that has a focus on designing a healthy Salish Sea (www.seadocsociety.org). The SeaDoc Society funds and conducts science and uses the information to help educate people about our marine resources and help improve management and policy decisions regarding the stewardship of those resources.
Joe has a doctor in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from the University of Georgia and while he’s a bit of science nerd, he also has a passion for all things wild: wildlife, wild places and even wild people. For over a decade Joe has been working on wildlife and ecosystem health issues in the region. He has published dozens of peer-reviewed scientific papers on topics related to diseases that impact human and wild animal health in species like harbor seals, river otters, porpoise and killer whales. He also has worked on ecosystem-level issues including defining top principles for designing healthy ecosystems. He serves as a Governor-appointed member of the Northwest Straits Commission and was appointed by the Washington Academy of Science to the Puget Sound Partnership’s Science Panel, which he now chairs.
As a translational scientist, Joe has a knack for connecting people to the amazing resources of the Salish Sea has given numerous keynote presentations. He also has testified on the current state of the science for various marine conservation issues to groups like the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Washington State Senate. He lives on Orcas Island with his family and dog where he loves to run the trails, SCUBA dive, spend time outside, enjoy the wildlife and wild areas of the San Juan Islands, eat from his family’s garden and be with his family.
