Brian G. Bedard is a Board member with Veterinarians Without Borders North America/Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Amérique du Nord Canada.
Brian G. Bedard, the Director of Food Safety and Animal Health at Alinea International, is a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety specialist with 40 years of international development experience living and working in Africa, South East Asia, China, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.
His professional experience has involved animal health and production, food safety, disease control and pandemic preparedness planning, sustainable agriculture, education and training, and the facilitation of sustainable agri-food value chains through public-private partnerships. Through multiple overseas postings he has managed international development programs including the World Bank Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP), the Global Program for Human and Avian Influenza (GPAI), One Health Initiatives, and food safety education and training as Executive Director of the Science and Education Foundation in the US. He currently oversees food safety and One Health programs in Southeast Asia, Africa and Central Asia for Alinea International.
#VETSVolunteerVoices brings you stories of our passionate VETS program volunteers from the field. Meet Grace Friesen, an Animal Health Advisor who spent three months in Kenya (May–August 2025) with our local partner, Meru Dairy, helping farmers improve herd health and milk production while learning firsthand how knowledge exchange can strengthen entire communities.
Josephine Mukagasana’s story shows how Community Hygiene Clubs are transforming health and confidence across rural Rwanda—empowering families to embrace handwashing, hygiene, and shared responsibility through the COHERS program’s One Health approach.
In this edition of Ask an Expert, we connected with Dr. Naima Jutha, Wildlife Veterinarian and Chief Veterinary Officer for the Government of the Northwest Territories. Based in Yellowknife, Dr. Jutha leads the Wildlife Health Program within the Department of Environment and Climate Change, monitoring and responding to emerging health threats among northern wildlife populations.
