Anders G. J. Rhodin, M.D.

Anders is an orthopedic surgeon as well as a turtle researcher and conservationist. Born in Sweden, he immigrated to the USA in 1958, received a B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1971, an M.D. from the University of Michigan in 1977, did orthopedic surgical residency training at Yale University, and was in private practice in Massachusetts from 1982 to 2012. He now lives in Vermont and is still doing part-time emergency orthopedic surgery. In addition to his medical practice, he has been working with turtles since 1971, first at Dartmouth and then for several years as an Associate in Herpetology at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Anders is the Founder and Director of Chelonian Research Foundation (CRF), a philanthropic nonprofit organization established in 1992 for the production, publication, and support of worldwide turtle and tortoise research. He is also the Founding Editor and Publisher of Chelonian Conservation and Biology, established by CRF in 1993 as a peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted exclusively to turtles and tortoises, and Chelonian Research Monographs, a book-length turtle-focused series established in 1996. Since 2017, both publications are now co-published by CRF and Turtle Conservancy.

Anders was Co-Chair of the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group with John Behler from 2000 to 2005, Chair from 2005 to 2012, and is currently Chairman Emeritus and Executive Vice Chair. As outgoing Chair in 2012 he was honored by the IUCN Species Survival Commission with their highest honor, the Sir Peter Scott Award for Conservation Merit.

Anders joined the Turtle Conservancy Board of Directors in 2006, replacing founding Board member John Behler, his close friend and conservation mentor, after John's untimely passing, and was elected Chair of the Board in 2016. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Turtle Survival Alliance and the African Aquatic Conservation Fund. He is founding Co-Chair of the Turtle Conservation Fund and a member of the Chairman’s Council of Conservation International. When not putting on casts and fixing broken bones on people, he’s busy raising funds, supporting turtle research and organizations, producing and publishing turtle research and other documentation, and promoting legislation and partnerships to help turtles survive in our increasingly threatened world.