Sara Shields earned her B.S. in Zoology from Colorado State University and her Ph.D. from The University of California, Davis in Animal Behavior in 2004. She worked in a postdoctoral capacity at the University of Nebraska, in the Animal Science department, as a researcher and lecturer. She specializes in the welfare of farm animals, particularly poultry, and does consulting in farm animal behavior and welfare, providing scientific and technical information to food retailers, universities, law enforcement and advocacy organizations. She is currently a U.S. Delegate to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC34 Working Group on Animal Welfare, and a member of The Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy.