Diana Goodrich: Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

The Do Together Podcast

What a great podcast this was! We had the pleasure of interviewing Diana Goodrich from Chimp Sanctuary Northwest, a charity dedicated to helping chimps that need to be rehomed after a life of testing or entertainment. The chimp sanctuary has a fascinating history. Founder, Keith LaChappelle, was reading a magazine article about the lives of chimps in biomedical research. Keith was so moved by the article, he decided to act. Despite knowing nothing about how to create a sanctuary, he decided to do it anyway. We are always amazed by stories like this. We are in awe of people like Keith find their passion and act to make a difference in the world.

Diana Goodrich has had a passion for primates from a very young age. She was working with kids in Portland and studying psychology. She realized she was only 5 hours away from a chimp named Washoe, that was being trained in sign language. She had also read, Next of Kin by Roger Fouts. Upon visiting with him, he convinced her to go all-in on primates and pursue a graduate degree in Experimental Psychology.

After working at other sanctuaries (and a slight detour working in libraries), she and her partner were toying with the idea of starting a chimp sanctuary. However, upon meeting Keith, they decided to pool their efforts. It took 5 years to launch, Chimp Sanctuary NW, but it was worth it.

Diana explained to us how changes in the NIH and Fish and Wildlife service has left more chimps looking for homes.

She also told use about some of the chimps including Jamie and her obsession with boots and Burrito and his love of kongs.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.