Dr. Leigh Clayton, SVP — Planning and Strategy

Dr. Leigh Clayton’s full-time job is as vice president of animal care and welfare at the National Aquarium in Baltimore Maryland, where she was previously the director of animal health and welfare. She loves creating team environments that foster learning, innovation, and excellence in animal care. She believes that when people are working well together, animals get the best care possible, and she is deeply committed to improving the lives of animals—and the people who care for them—in a variety of settings. She brings this passion for learning and excellence to everything she does, including going back to school herself! She is recently completed the executive MBA program at the Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.

She is a graduate of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Her veterinary training included programs in small animal medicine and surgery internship at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, DC, zoo and aquarium medicine internship at Lincoln Park Zoo and John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL, and avian/ exotic animal medicine and surgery residency at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, MA. She is an American Board of Veterinary Practitioners Diplomate in Avian and Reptile/Amphibian.