Dr. Kelly George received her PhD from The Ohio State University and taught in higher education on the topics of animal welfare and the human-animal relationship from 2008-2023. Her research there focused on better understanding decisions regarding societal and personal concern (empathy) for animals, best practices for assessing how an animal in human care copes with its environment, including during interactions and transport, and the effect of human-animal interactions. Dr. George advised multiple graduate students conducting research in these areas. She has presented at national and international conferences and has many peer-reviewed publications. Dr. George was the creator of an animal welfare training program called Alphabetic Welfare, and is a founding partner in The KUZO Group LLC, providing consulting services for organizations as they develop animal welfare programs, interactions protocols, and animal environments.

Kelly currently serves as a member of Wendy’s International’s (Headquarters Dublin, OH, USA) animal welfare council, is a conservation auditor for American Humane, and is part of the WorthWild Africa (not for profit) management team. Additionally, Dr. George served for four years on the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium’s (Columbus, OH, USA) animal welfare committee and five years as Co-director of the Center for Human-Animal Interactions Research & Education (CHAIRE).