See Jane Speak

When I was a girl, Jane Goodall came to my school to speak about her work with primates. I was 8 years old and it was the first time I had ever encountered a famous, distinguished person (other than a chance Blazer sighting in Portland). Generally, those guest speaker talks in school are often more for the parents who plan them than for the children, but this was a great exception.

I remember being captivated by Jane's stories, told in her beautiful speaking voice, with her London accent, which back then sounded not only sophisticated, but exotic too. She told us stories about her research in Tanzania, and about David Greybeard, the first chimpanzee she observed using tools and the importance of conserving the natural habitat of the animals.
This morning I watched her Ted Talk from 2007 on what separates us from the apes. It brought me back to that day all those years ago when I saw her speak for the first time. I was struck by how little she has changed and how engaging her quiet style is. I also found these pictures of her as a young woman and I love how chic she looks, whether standing in the jungle or having a chimp brush her hair. I wonder what it would have been like to be a young woman in the 1950's setting off for Tanzania to study with Louis Leakey. You can watch the Ted talk below: