KATHLEEN CONLEE
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, ANIMAL RESEARCH ISSUES

Kathleen Conlee is director of program management for Animal Research Issues. She has worked for The HSUS since 1999 and deals with the wide array of issues surrounding the use of animals in biomedical research.  Conlee is specifically responsible for the Chimps Deserve Better campaign, which seeks to end the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research and testing. She is also responsible for the Pain & Distress Campaign, which seeks to eliminate pain and distress in animal research.

Conlee reaches out to the scientific community, regulators and policymakers through publishing technical papers, representing the animal protection community on scientific committees, engaging the public and pressuring federal agencies and the animal research community to make change.

Prior to joining The HSUS, Conlee worked for seven years at a primate breeding facility as the manager of Breeding and Behavior, managing a colony of 3,000 individuals, including four macaque species, owl monkeys and lemurs. In this position she used environmental enrichment and other methods to reduce captive stressors, cared for psychologically disturbed individuals, and managed the nursery facilities. She also did contract work with the National Institutes of Health on projects that examined correlations between immunological measures, behavior, reproductive success, serotonin levels and mortality.

Conlee also worked at the Center for Orangutan and Chimpanzee Conservation sanctuary as the supervisor of care, which involved daily care of the chimpanzees and orangutans, coordination of the environmental enrichment and volunteer program, and establishment of protocols related to all aspects of animal care.

Conlee received a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1991, and she has a master's degree in public administration with a specialization in public policy.