At this special Valentine’s Day meeting, the San Diego Humane Society will be presenting “Turtley in Love: Chelonian Medicine in the Shelter Setting”.

Bio

Dr. Lacey Benefiel is an intern veterinarian at San Diego Humane Society. She completed her undergraduate education in Animal Science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and attended veterinary school at St. George’s University, Grenada and North Carolina State University. In addition to her interests in shelter medicine, she is also passionate about wildlife, zoo, and exotic animal medicine. She has spent time working in the medical departments at the North Carolina Zoo & Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, University of Pretoria-South Africa, SeaWorld San Diego, Georgia Aquarium, and local wildlife rehabilitation facilities on both the east and west coasts. During these experiences she has enjoyed working with many turtle and tortoise species including leopard tortoises, box turtles, and leatherback sea turtles to name a few.

Dr. Andrew Kushnir obtained his Bachelor's degree in Science from Whittier college with a major in both Biology and Environmental Science. After a few years of traveling the world and playing music in a band he attended veterinary school at St. George's University in Grenada, West Indies. While in Grenada he was involved in snake research with the endangered Grenadian Tree Bank Boa and also with mosquito vector research. He completed his final year of veterinary school at the University College Dublin in Ireland. Currently he is an Intern Veterinarian at San Diego Humane Society and will be working with NOAA this spring and summer with the health assessments of the Green Sea Turtle population here in the San Diego Bay.

Balboa Park
Casa Del Prado
Room 101