“Like Jane Goodall, I have always been passionate about learning about our environment and the other creatures of the world we inhabit the Earth with, as well as doing everything I can to protect it. My first two jobs, while still in high school were one summer working for the NJ-Essex County Park Commission and the next summer working at Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, NJ. Although my passion would have led me to working with animals as a career, during this same time period, I also volunteered at East Orange General. This experience fueled my drive to help people and their families through difficult times in their life when they are dealing with medical illness. However, I have never lost my focus of wanting to preserve our world, our climate and all of earth’s inhabitants. For this reason, I have been very involved in the One Health initiative, which focuses on achieving optimal health outcomes through acknowledging and addressing the interconnection between people, plants and animals and their shared global environment. Along with Amy Papi, I am co-chair of the NJ One Health Initiative and one of the organizers of the Regional One Health Consortium (with member states, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania). Fast forward to current time, and once again, I am very happy to once again be connected to Turtle Back Zoo and the other Species Preservation sites in NJ. Also to have a role in encouraging Rutgers faculty, staff and students to be more aware of our precious environment. And, most importantly, that we all acknowledge our health is not achieved in isolation, but rather in harmony with our surroundings and the other plants and animals that we share our planet with.”
Gloria Bachmann, MD
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Associate Dean for Women’s Health
Director of the Women’s Health Institute at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.