Spreading Jane Goodall’s Message
Live talks by Dr. John Crocker,
who worked alongside Dr. Goodall
in Tanzania as a student.
“One can’t help but wonder if Dr. Crocker’s ability to connect so quickly with, and engage an audience could be attributed to his deep appreciation of the common bond that exists between human and non-human primate behavior. He left his audience (just like his readers) not wanting this moment to end.”
— A.S., Emory University Faculty member attending the talk at the Carter Presidential Library, Atlanta
As a college student, I had the privilege of spending eight months with Dr. Jane Goodall in Tanzania studying families of chimpanzees in the wild. I remained a close friend of hers over the past fifty years. At our last meeting, on her 90th birthday, she expressed her strong desire to have her message continue to be widely spread after she’s gone. Unfortunately, that time has arrived. I can’t imagine a braver, intelligent and articulate human being who has brought hope and empowerment to so many people across the globe.
I have created a presentation with video clips, photos, and personal stories of Jane Goodall’s ground-breaking work with the chimps and highlights of what she taught me over the years. Initially designed for a recent book tour, the presentation has been enthusiastically received by a wide range of audiences. The talk is interactive. I can and have modified the content, for example, to include discussion of evolution or examples in my medical practice.
I intend to continue to spread her inspirational message to colleges, high schools, libraries, dinner events, and other venues. I am not doing this for financial gain and will not charge a speaking fee (only possible shared expenses for significant travel costs). I live in Seattle and travel between Vancouver BC and Portland often.
The Lessons I Learned
Watch this video to get a quick, powerful summary of the connection between Jane Goodall’s work and my approach to practicing medicine and spreading hope. [4:48]
I Was Jane Goodall’s Student: The True Story Behind ‘Following Fifi’
An interview by Ashley Sullivan of the Jane Goodall Institute about what I learned from the Gombe chimpanzees that I applied to my life.
Previous Engagements
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta
University of Pittsburgh, Dept. of Neuroscience
Stanford University, Dept. of Human Biology
Stanford Alumni Association, Vancouver, BC
West Vancouver Library, West Vancouver BC
Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle
Powell’s Bookstore, Portland/Beaverton
University Bookstore, Seattle
Harvard Alumni Association, Atlanta
University of Washington, Faculty Club Dinner Speaker
Appeared on New Day Northwest KING-5 TV, Seattle
Numerous High Schools in Puget Sound area
Upcoming Events
~ coming soon ~
Here is some of the commentary I have received since I began giving the presentation:
“Attendance for your talk broke records and the reviews were outstanding.”
— R.K., physician and organizer of medical group speaker series.
“I just read the student comments about the workshop and they were unanimously positive (your presentation exceeded expectations).”
— L.C., Faculty member describing Stanford Human Biology seniors assessing my presentation.
“I continue to hear compliments and appreciation from both staff and students about your presentation. Students really valued the connections you made to them as teenagers and where they are in their lives.”
— S.S., High school teacher, Beaverton, Oregon.
From Jane Goodall’s forward to Following Fifi by John Crocker, MD:
“I realized just how profoundly his (Gombe) experience has influenced him. His patients have surely benefited from his understanding of the human condition, gleaned from his long hours with our closest relatives in a remote forest.”
More about Following Fifi here.
John Crocker’s Profile
John Crocker, MD is a retired family physician after thirty-five years of practice in Seattle, Washington. He was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and attended Stanford University where he met Dr. Jane Goodall. He received his MD from Case Western School of Medicine in Cleveland.
Dr. Crocker is a popular speaker at high schools, colleges and universities, and other educational venues on primate behavior and has written for the Huffington Post about lessons learned from our closest living relatives. He published Following Fifi (Pegasus) with forward by Jane Goodall in 2018. The book describes his eight months of work as a student with Dr. Goodall studying wild chimpanzees at her study site in Tanzania, East Africa.
He has served as the ship physician on Semester at Sea, served as volunteer island doctor for the island of Barbuda in the Caribbean and was medical chief of the Northgate Group Heath Medical Center, serving 30,000 patients in Seattle.
He and his wife raised two boys and lives in Seattle.
