Shelby E. McDonald

Shelby E. McDonald, PhD, MSW, serves as the Associate Professor and Sarama Bliss Endowed Chair in Human-Animal Interaction at Colorado State University since July 2024. As the Director and Founder of RISE HAI (Research for Inclusion, Social Justice and Equity in Human-Animal Interaction), LLC, established in August 2015 in Denver, CO, Shelby McDonald specializes in human-animal interactions research, community-engaged research, and equity and health-focused studies. Prior roles include Director of Community Research and Evaluation at the Denver Zoological Foundation, and Director of Research for the ASPCA's Policy, Response, & Engagement Division. Previous academic positions include Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver. Shelby E. McDonald holds a Ph.D. in Social Work with a focus on Human-Animal Interaction from the University of Denver and has an MSW with a concentration in Leadership and Community Practice.