THE DR. FIONA RIOJA-LANG TRAVEL AWARD
The Dr. Fiona Rioja-Lang Travel Award was created to honour a scientist who understood that knowledge only matters when it is shared. Fiona built her career by bringing people together – at conferences in Edinburgh and Ottawa, in workshops in Mexico City, and around kitchen tables in Mérida – because she believed the best ideas emerge through connection, collaboration, and conversation. Animal welfare is a global challenge, and meaningful progress depends on researchers, students, and advocates being able to access the world’s best thinking, wherever they begin.
Each year, this award will support animal welfare professionals and students in Canada to attend conferences, workshops, and short courses around the world, while also helping international students come to Canada to do the same. It will fund the journeys that spark new ideas, create lasting collaborations, and shape entire careers. Initiated by Fiona’s family and friends and administered by the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada, the award reflects everything Fiona stood for: continuous learning, science, compassion, and human connection – carrying her name and spirit into every room its recipients enter.
“Expect little, give a lot”
– Dr. Fiona Rioja-Lang
“Fiona had amazing energy at conferences. […] Fiona would attend talks all day long and then go out at night to socialize until all hours! I went to bed early, wondering when she would make it back and how on earth she did it all! ”
– Jennifer Brown, friend and colleague
About Fiona
Dr. Fiona Connell Rioja Lang grew up in Gourock, a small town on the west coast of Scotland, but her life and work would eventually connect her with people and communities around the world. After earning a degree in Zoology from the University of Glasgow, she pursued her passion for animal welfare at the University of Edinburgh, completing both a Master’s degree and a PhD in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare. Her research focused on improving the welfare of farm animals, including dairy cattle and pigs, but Fiona’s impact extended far beyond academia.
Her career took her from Scotland to Canada and later to Mérida in the Yucatán, Mexico, where she continued her research while raising her family and helping free-roaming dogs in her local community. Whether she was contributing to the National Farm Animal Care Council of Canada, collaborating with international colleagues, or attending conferences around the world, Fiona brought extraordinary energy, generosity, and warmth to every space she entered.
Friends and colleagues remember her not only as a respected scientist, but as someone who connected people effortlessly and made others feel valued and welcome. Fiona devoted her life to improving the welfare of animals and strengthening the global community working on their behalf. She passed away tragically in 2019 at the age of 37, leaving behind her husband, children, family, friends, and a worldwide network of colleagues deeply shaped by her compassion, optimism. But we will continue her vision of a better future for animals.
About the award
Each award covers up to $2,500 (CAD) toward travel, registration, and accommodation costs for attending a conference, workshop, or short course (up to three days) in animal welfare. Two to three awards will be granted each year, depending on available funds. The award is intentionally broad in scope, just as Fiona was. It covers all species, from farmed animals to free-roaming dogs, and supports work at every level of the field.
The award is open to anyone working on or studying animal welfare in Canada: undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, scientists, advocates, and professionals. International individuals may also apply to attend conferences in Canada. The one requirement is a genuine commitment to improving the lives of animals.
Application instructions coming soon. Join our mailing list to be notified the moment applications open. You can join using this link.
Support the future Fiona believed in
In the first years of the award, every donation directly funds travel opportunities for students and animal welfare professionals who otherwise could not afford to attend conferences, workshops, and training programs around the world. Each contribution helps send someone into the kinds of rooms Fiona believed mattered most: places where ideas are shared, collaborations begin, and lifelong connections are formed.
At the same time, the award is being built for the future. As donations grow, a portion of the fund will be invested to create a permanent endowment, designed to sustain the award independently for generations to come. Our goal is to raise at least $100,000 CAD by 2031, allowing investment income alone to fund multiple awards every year without reducing the principal. Every gift, large or small, helps build that future.
Together, we can ensure that Fiona’s name continues to open doors for the next generation of animal welfare advocates, carrying forward the global, compassionate spirit she brought to everything she did.