Jyothi V. Robertson, DVM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine)
Dr. Jyothi Robertson is a veterinarian with an extremely versatile and highly accomplished career. With over 2 decades of varied experience in the animal sector, Dr. Robertson is globally regarded in the industry as a visionary thought leader, and is a prominent international speaker on a variety of broad as well as extremely specialized topics in the realm of animal health, personal wellbeing and leadership.
Dr. Robertson earned her DVM and completed a three-year residency at UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, with a board specialization in shelter medicine. Since the start of her animal career in 1998, Dr. Robertson gained experience as a groomer, kennel assistant, veterinary assistant, leading to key leadership responsibilities as a veterinarian, and medical director of a municipal animal control facility for multiple years.
After practicing as a full-time veterinarian in both public and private sectors, Dr. Robertson founded JVR Shelter Strategies in 2011, through which she provides consulting services to animal welfare and related organizations, both nationally and internationally. Jyothi is successfully helping reimagine shelter space for better animal health, optimize capacity for and access to veterinary care, and build a sustainable vision for the future in a rapidly changing animal welfare landscape. She excels at developing metrics of success and training organizations at analyzing data; and engages in community surveying and scientific research nationally.
In 2015, Dr. Robertson germinated her passion project, the Journey You Own (JYO), to raise awareness about the interdependent nature of our work and the role of grounding practices in supporting our emotional and mental wellbeing. This developed into a fiscally-sponsored nonprofit focusing on the power to transform by providing tools and resources, to those in the animal sector and beyond, that result in productivity, alignment and connection. Jyothi creates communities of practice through JYO to bring meditation and mindfulness to the nonprofit mission-driven sectors.
As an educator, Dr. Robertson has delivered numerous lectures and presentations that have left an indelible impact on the industry and her listeners. Her work has taken her to five continents where she has presented as a speaker and keynote at over 50 conferences, including most recently her delivery of a keynote welcome address to an audience of 2,500+ individuals.
Her professional interests include shelter medicine, access to veterinary care, organizational design, and the emotional and mental well-being of mission-driven professionals.
Throughout her career, Dr. Robertson has served on various boards and committees including the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, Human Animal Support Services, the American Veterinary Medical Association, Shelter Animals Count, Fear-Free Advisory Board, and the California Veterinary Medical Association, in executive leadership roles. In her spare time, she teaches and creates curricula for middle and high school students about animal-related fields, having received her certification in elementary education. Dr Robertson continues to practice as a veterinarian by volunteering her time for efforts of impact, including providing much-needed veterinary services to unsheltered populations and under-resourced communities.
Presently, Dr. Robertson resides on the ancestral lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone people in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where she shares her life with her husband, three children, two dogs, three cats, and one tortoise.