Zoo Vet Taught "People First" Leadership for 30 Years

A young orangutan named Karen once survived a complex surgery at the San Diego Zoo because dozens of specialists and volunteers worked together perfectly. The veterinarian who led that effort believed the real triumph wasn't the medical technique—it was the teamwork.

Don Janssen spent more than 30 years at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, rising from staff veterinarian to vice president of animal health. But what set him apart wasn't just his expertise with endangered species—it was what a senior vet told him early on that changed everything.

Janssen had assumed that loving animals more than people would make him a better wildlife vet. His mentor corrected him sharply: if you can't work well with people, you'll spend your career in conflict, and the animals will suffer for it.

That lesson became the foundation of Janssen's career. He developed what he called "servant leadership"—showing up for your team, listening carefully, and staying calm when everything goes wrong.

Colleagues remember him as someone who made time, who clarified roles before tensions could build, and who never pulled rank just because he could. When a female elephant died after days of treatment, Janssen never forgot the manager who arrived late at night just to stand with the grieving team.

"In a crisis, attend to the people first," he wrote. "Results follow from that."

Janssen graduated from UC Davis in 1978 and helped shape modern zoological medicine through clinical work, research, and institutional leadership. He trained a generation of veterinarians who now carry his practices forward at zoos worldwide.

Why This Inspires

Later in life, Janssen was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He wrote about it without self-pity, saying it kept "a lid on" his ego and sharpened his focus on others. He taught that while you can't control your circumstances, you can always control your response.

His book, Upside-Down Leadership, laid out the principles he lived by: build trust before conflict arises, focus on people's strengths instead of their weaknesses, and approach authority with restraint. He often used animal encounters to teach human lessons—an ostrich dismissed as foolish reminded him that we judge others by the wrong standards, and a protective panda showed him that real power means holding back for something vulnerable.

Janssen died last week at 70. His impact shows up not in monuments, but in the veterinarians who learned from him how to save more lives by caring for their teams first.

The animals he treated lived or died for complex reasons, but the people he mentored will carry his lessons forward for decades to come.