Suzanne MacDonald

Dr. Suzanne E. MacDonald is University Professor in the Department of Psychology at York University, where she is cross-appointed to the graduate programs in both Psychology and Biology. Her research focuses on three main areas: memory and cognition (“how animals think”), the psychological well-being of captive animals, and the impact of human activity on wildlife. She conducts fieldwork at sites in Kenya, with turtles in the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada, and at the Toronto Zoo, where she has volunteered as a behaviorist for more than three decades.

Suzanne has extensive board experience with Canadian charitable organizations, including the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (Canada), the Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation (COTERC), and the Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIS). A lifelong fan of turtles, she is excited to advance global turtle conservation through TSA Canada.