Dr. Kathleen Alexander has been conducting research and working with Governments in East and Southern Africa for nearly thirty-five years. She was recruited by the Government of Botswana to serve as the Chief of the Wildlife Veterinary Unit in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and later, requested to act as the Ecological Advisor to the Office of the President of Botswana and the Attorney General's Chambers. She also was involved in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, serving as part of an epidemiological team supporting the United States Government’s outbreak response. Most recently, she was asked to serve as a scientific advisor on the Botswana Presidential Covid Task Force during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has spent most of her professional life focused on the study and management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, climate change and water insecurity in Africa using a One Health approach. She engages both communities and governments alike to improve public and animal health and security. She serves on IUCN Wildlife Health Specialist Group and Commission for Ecosystem Management as well as the Dryland Ecosystem Specialist Group. She also serves on the Health-Related Microbiology Specialist Group, African Lion Working Group, and is an Associate Editor for ESA's Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. She moved to the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech in 2007. She is the Board President and founding member of the nongovernmental organization Centre for Conservation of African Resources: Animals, Communities, and Land Use (CARACAL, www.caracal.info) as well as the Director of the Chobe Research Institute and the Botswana Wildlife and Environmental Forensic Center in Northern Botswana. Here, she continues her work developing critical infrastructure and rapid response approaches for emerging One Health security threats in Africa. In 2021, she was named the William E. Lavery Professor by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and received in 2024 the highest state honor, the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV). Kathleen received both her Ph.D. and veterinary degree from the University of California, Davis.