A Career Beyond Turtle Pace: Kimberly Stewart’s Global Conservation Dream
When most children were still choosing favorite colors, Kimberly Stewart, DVM ’06 was deciding definitively on a career direction. “I declared my major in fourth grade,” she laughs. Growing up on a farm in Georgia surrounded by animals, Stewart’s fascination with animals was constant, but it wasn’t until she saw her first sea turtle hatchling head slowly toward the ocean that her life’s mission quickly came into focus.
Today, Stewart is the founder of a nonprofit, a conservation network executive director, and a passionate Ross Vet associate professor. With her more than 20 years of study, conservation battles, and teaching, she demonstrates how perseverance and collaboration create meaningful change.
A New Passion Hatches
What began as a master's program course on Georgia's St. Catherines Island became the spark that shifted Dr. Stewart's journey. "I went out for an education course," she recalls, "but I saw my first turtle hatchling, and I was hooked. I've been addicted to sea turtles ever since." She then launched her Ross Vet student journey in January 2003. Within her first week, she had secured a government permit to patrol beaches for turtle nesting, and by January she had founded the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network (SKSTMN).
Dr. Stewart and a strong base of volunteers, both local and international, expanded the SKSTMN from only beach patrols to include in-water programs, diving offshore to capture, tag, and assess turtles, a sea turtle hotline, and summer camps.
A born helper and motivator, Stewart’s teaching philosophy is simple: get students out of the classroom and into the field. At Ross Vet, she teaches reptile medicine, coordinates exotic animal courses, and leads an elective on sea turtle medicine. Her students’ most memorable lessons come on the beach. There, they’re required to commit to night patrols twice a week, staff the sea turtle hotline, and join in-water captures to conduct health assessments.
“To anyone considering this kind of path, you have to know that it’s a long game, but if you have passion, a strong work ethic, and an ability to collaborate, you’ll make a difference.” she says.
