Dr. Marie-José Enders-Slegers

Marie-José Enders-Slegers is the current president of IAHAIO and has held that position for many years.

She is an emeritus Professor in Anthrozoology at the Faculty of Psychology at the Open University in Heerlen, the Netherlands between June 2013 and September 2022. Marie-José has been recognized for her lifetime academic and professional achievements by the Dutch Crown.

She successively obtained her Doctoral Diploma Psychology (1990) at the University of Utrecht; a Doctorate (PhD) in Psychology (2000); a Diploma Health Care Psychologist (2001), Certificates Basic- and Senior Lecturer (2003) at the Utrecht University and followed numerous post doctorate courses for further qualifications in research and clinical psychology. She specialized in human-animal interactions.

Her research is focused on the development of human animal relations and the meaning of human-animal interactions for vulnerable people (e.g. elderly, elderly with dementia, traumatized children, people with mental disabilities, children with psychiatric disorders, autistic children, and psychiatric patients) and on the link between domestic violence and animal abuse.

Furthermore, she was founder of AAIZOO (Animal Assisted Interventions in Zorg (Care), Onderzoek (Research), Onderwijs (Education); is Founder and Board member of The Circle of Violence in the Netherlands, is Fellow at the Denver University; has been member of the Expert Advisory Group Sociology of the CALLISTO project of the European Union (until 2016), is founder and chair member of IVA, (Institute for Anthrozoology in the Netherlands) and is boardmember (ex officio) of ISAZ (International Society of Anthrozoology), is on the advisory council of Green Chimneys, Brewster, N.Y. and is an ISAZ Fellow. She still is involved in several research projects at the Open university.