Deborah Smith

Deborah Smith, Co-founder and Conservation Director, received her B.S. in biology from Saint Mary’s College of California, her M.S. in integrative biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her Ph.D. in wildlife science from the University of Washington, Seattle. Since 1991, she has been active in wildlife research and conservation efforts throughout the U.S. and Canada, worked with numerous threatened and endangered species, and explored genetic issues of wild populations. Her Ph.D. research focused on San Joaquin kit fox conservation, non-invasive monitoring methods for rare species, and evaluation of the use of specialized detection dogs to obtain species and population information. In addition, Deborah has a wealth of background in obedience, behavior, and detection dog training disciplines. She has worked as a professional dog trainer for over 19 years, operating several highly successful canine development programs in the northwestern States, and worked specifically with conservation dogs since 1999. Deborah has a broad range of professional interests in wildlife science, and shares a common goal with the other WDC co-founders of advancing research and continuing the evolution of the detection dog method for conservation and management purposes.