Dr. Deborah Thomson is a veterinarian and One Health expert who started teaching in 2001. Since then, she has served as a Science Policy Advisor in the United States Senate; has founded and led a global organization that inspires children and adults to value the interconnection between human health and the health of the environment, plants, and animals (called One Health Lessons); has practiced clinical veterinary medicine in emergency departments, animal shelters, and general practices; has taught thousands of children about One Health; has worked as a One Health Expert Consultant in multiple global nongovernmental organizations and universities including the One Health Institute at the University of California–Davis; has served as an external member of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s One Health Work Group; has created internationally-acclaimed science lessons that are being translated into over eighty languages; has been running a Science Communication Training program with over 800 global participants; and is currently the Chair of the World Veterinary Association’s One Health Education Subgroup and ad-hoc member of its One Health Subject Focus Group.
In addition, she has won multiple public speaking competitions, has spoken in over a dozen countries, and has most notably been an invited speaker at events associated with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Global Health Security Agenda, the US Agency for International Development, the US Department of Agriculture, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the World Veterinary Association, and the One Health Action Collaborative, an ad hoc activity associated with the Forum on Microbial Threats at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Dr. Thomson has been recognized as a Global Goodwill Ambassador, a distinction reserved for humanitarians, as well as an Impact Leader and an Excellence in STEM Inspiration Honoree. Her articles have been printed in multiple publications, including The Lancet Planetary Health.
Aside from writing and working on these worthy projects, she enjoys playing music, traveling, learning languages, and being outdoors. She lives in the Washington, DC area.
