On October 1, 2025, at 91 years old, Jane Goodall left our earth plane. The reaction throughout the world was immediate and visceral. Jane’s influence on science, the study of animals, the forwarding of women’s rights, and just a plain common-sense approach to life’s challenges is what made Jane unique among leadership icons.
She was soft spoken. Almost shy in her initial appearance in older years, but her impact will be felt for generations to come. At first, she wasn’t taken seriously as a researcher on chimpanzee behavior. But renowned scientist Louis Leakey saw something in her that had to be nourished and promoted, and he did just that. And that was the start of a life-long journey for Jane, conducting applied science before even having the credentials to warrant the PhD title of scientist and researcher. Long hours in the field transcribing her notes, carefully observing creatures that up until then were not very well known.
In later years she became a strong advocate for all creatures, supporting animal rights groups and their missions. There are so many quotes attributed to her, and perhaps this one is as close to summing up her essential message as any:
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
That sentiment inspires our work at CURes, and each of us has a story about how we have been profoundly affected by Jane.
Dr. Eric Strauss, CURes Executive Director
Jane Goodall was already famous for her work with chimpanzees by the early 1980’s. I was then a doctoral student studying animal behavior at Tufts University and the storyline on Dr. Goodall was that she had done so much for conservation of rare species, but her work was not rigorous. She gave her chimpanzee subjects names and integrated into their lives. These characteristics were considered scientifically inappropriate and a methodological compromise. She had not yet published many scientific papers, nor held traditional academic appointments. But then… in 1986, she published The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior. The scientific community was floored! The huge tome was a treasure chest of extraordinary science and insight into the social complexity of our closest living relatives. Faculty and students at Tufts University organized a book club to more closely read and study the findings at Gombe. The book was a revelation and siren call to a new generation of animal scientists who would be forever changed by her work. The quality of her research and the passion she brought to the field affirmed that it was OK to love the animals you studied. A steady stream of additional research articles followed, along with a lineage of popular science books. Jane Goodall was a beacon, lighting a new way to do animal behavior research and an invitation for armies of people to enter the field of ecology and conservation. Her life was a model of how good science can lead to social change. I saw her speak twice while I was teaching in Boston. Both times were the kind of transformative experience that stays with you a lifetime. Dr. Goodall brought such force to the stage, made even more powerful by her humble demeanor. Our debt of gratitude to Jane is paid through our work for the future generations of humans and animals that coexist on this planet.
Dr. Michele Romolini, CURes Managing Director
As a girl who loved animals and science, there weren’t many female role models or known career paths outside of becoming a veterinarian or working at a zoo. My ideas about my future were greatly expanded as I started taking classes related to animal behavior and environmental conservation. Jane Goodall’s work was inspiring and I romanticized the dream of doing something similar—spending hours studying social behavior in animals. And I did get the chance to have some amazing experiences with animals in my early career. While I ultimately found that working with humans and urban nature was a better fit for me, I can’t underestimate the impact of learning about Jane and this whole scientific realm that involved studying and helping to protect wild animals.
Roya Shahnazari, CURes Assistant Director
Jane Goodall was and will always be an inspiration, especially to me as a woman. Jane embodies the quote, “if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life,” and she inspired me to go after my passions in my career, not just a paycheck. She was a role model that I could look up to with confidence and know that my dreams and ambitions were within reach. She was a trailblazer in every sense, and her legacy will live on forever through new generations of women in sciences. Her impact is immeasurable, and I will always admire the path she paved for advances in studies of animals.
Isabel Torres, Research Associate
As a young girl, I first admired Jane Goodall for her humanness, before I could grasp her scientific importance. I looked up to her as if she just knew a secret to life, one that only comes to those who learn and live in communion with nature. Now, as I am charged with carving my own path, her legacy reminds me that anywhere I am, I have the power to make an impact; and anywhere I am, there is community to learn from—animal, plant, or human. I will forever chase the wisdom of the natural world, and I hope to share it with those who come after me, following in the footsteps of Jane Goodall.
Lisa Fimiani, CURes Drollinger Environmental Fellow
I’ve always loved following Jane Goodall’s career, especially delighting in watching the TV specials that would showcase her work. I’ve met her twice in person. Once at the Kearney Airport in Nebraska, as I was completing a volunteer week at the Ian Nicolson Rowe Sanctuary. Margery Nicolson had driven me to the airport, and I exclaimed that Jane Goodall was entering the airport lobby. Margery walked up to Jane and they embraced, both knowing each other as leaders in the environment. I was awestruck, in the presence of two great ladies. Jane came to see the Cranes in the Spring along with visitors from around the world. Fast forward ten years later and I had the good fortune of representing our Center and the non-profit Friends of Ballona Wetlands during a wonderful celebration of accomplishments with Jane Goodall’s non-profit for children called Roots & Shoots at Sola Impact in downtown LA in April of 2023. A former LMU student and employee of CURes, April Sandifer, invited us to table the event, and I brought our recently published book on Hummingbirds in the Gottlieb Native Garden, to give to Jane, as a gift from our Center. Here I am pictured with her… again, awestruck.
Over the years I’ve been inspired by her humility, her tenacity, and her sense of purpose. At her passing I am more determined than ever to continue carrying the baton she extended to each of us, to take good care of our precious earth and all the creatures on it.
What will you do to honor Jane’s memory? Not doing anything is not an option.
Read more about Jane from her Institute: https://janegoodall.org/