The Marine Mammal Center’s forward thinking on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion as well as its position as a leading marine mammal hospital and research facility has helped me to achieve my goals of creating a better world for animals and people too!

Dr. Dane Whitaker first joined The Marine Mammal Center in 1991 as a veterinary student, working for a summer as a volunteer. He returned in 2014 as an animal care volunteer and joined the staff in 2017 as a veterinarian. He provides clinical and field work relief on an as-needed basis, such as supporting Leptospirosis field research on San Miguel Island by anesthetizing sea lions for sample collection.

Dane has been practicing veterinary medicine in the San Francisco area for over 25 years. In addition to being a relief veterinarian at the Center, he provides small animal clinical relief services across central California.

Although a Bay Area native, Dane grew up in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994. After graduation, he completed a small animal medicine and surgery internship at the Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital. He completed his master’s degree in Preventive Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis in 2017. Dane’s veterinary interests include small animal medicine, clinical pathology, marine mammal medicine and One Health.

Dane is the immediate past president of the Pride Veterinary Medical Community, the nation’s LGBTQ+ veterinary organization, and takes an active role in promoting the ideas of inclusion and acceptance for all members of the community in the veterinary profession. In 2022, he spoke at the VMX conference in Orlando, Florida, as a featured speaker during an entire day devoted to LGBTQ+ issues in the veterinary profession, the first such programming that has occurred at a national veterinary conference.

When he’s not caring for sick or injured animals, Dane plays drums in a band in San Francisco. 

Areas of Expertise

• Veterinary Medicine
• Infectious Disease Research
• Wildlife Anesthesia and Field Sampling
• Educational Speaker
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant