In the summer of 1960 Jane Goodall arrived in Tanzania on Lake Tanganyika's eastern shore. This marked the beginning of the longest ever continuous field study of animals in their natural habitat. Five years later, she earned a Ph.D. in ethology at Cambridge University and then returned to Tanzania to establish the Gombe Stream Research Center. After 40 consecutive years of research, Dr. Goodall and her team continue to contribute significant findings on chimpanzee behavior and ecology. Her methodology and scientific discoveries revolutionized the field of primatology. Dr. Goodall distinguished between individual chimpanzee personalities, giving them names instead of numbers. She also chronicled chimpanzees making and using tools, a skill once believed exclusive to humans. To provide ongoing support for chimpanzee research, Dr. Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977. Today, Dr. Goodall spends most of her time traveling around the world, visiting North America twice a year, in the fall and the spring. The primary purpose of Dr. Goodall's worldwide schedule of appearances is to spread her message of conservation and awareness of the true nature of chimpanzees, and the other beings with whom we share this world. Through her lectures, she also raises funds to support JGIÕs projects and actively encourages participation in Roots & Shoots, JGIÕs environmental education and humanitarian program for youth.

Dr. Goodall is the recipient of numerous honors and awards and highly respected in both the scientific and lay communities. In 1995, she received the National Geographic Society's prestigious Hubbard Medal "for her extraordinary 35-year study of wild chimpanzees and for tirelessly defending the natural world we share." Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Dr. Goodall the Commander, British Empire, and she is the only non-Tanzanian to have received the Medal of Tanzania.  During his term at United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan named Dr. Goodall as a U.N. Ambassador for Peace (one of ten in the world so recognized).