Website of the Week: Jean Beasley and her Sea Turtle Hospital

This week's tip of the hat goes to Jean Beasley for her work as founder and director of The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jean earlier this year when I went on a tour of her facility on Topsail Island, North Carolina. To hear her tell it, she never intended to be a champion of the sea turtles. But in 1996, when the first injured sea turtle found her, no one else was available to care for their needs. Jean stepped up with her can-do attitude and soon her facility was overflowing with patients. When possible, Jean and her staff rehabilitate the turtles and release them back into the wild. You can see one of her patients right now on the Turtle Cam.

Jean was recently honored as Animal Planet's Hero of the Year for 2007! Go, Jean!