Francesca Brown Lecturer

Francesca Brown is a veterinarian who graduated from Massey University, New Zealand in the class of 1998. Since graduating and gaining experience in clinical practice she moved to education and then leadership in Allied Veterinary professional education, at both Otago Polytechnic, as the Head of the School of Veterinary Nursing and nationally as the Chair of the Educational Standards committee for Allied Veterinary Professionals. Over her career she has seen first-hand and through her network of colleagues in the industry (both veterinarians and allied veterinary professionals) the significant challenges faced to personnel. In 2015 on completing a Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Practice which she entered focussed wanted to fix the environmental issues in veterinary practice it became clear that until we can meet people’s needs in veterinary practice trying to engage individuals and the industry as a whole in environmentally sound practice is going to be an uphill battle. This led to completing a Master’s in Professional Practice in 2020 with a research focus on socially sustainable practice and asking the question – can we be socially sustainable (look after the people) in veterinary practice in New Zealand while still meeting the financial bottom line.