Casey Quimby ’06

Casey Quimby ’06 left the United States with two suitcases to live in New Zealand for a year. Nearly 20 years later, she lives in Fiji, advocating for animal welfare abroad.

“Over time, I’ve transitioned from an expat to becoming a citizen of Fiji after 18 years here,” said Quimby. “I won’t ever not be American — you’re so shaped by where you grow up — but now, having spent nearly half my life outside the U.S., I have two homes and two cultures I happily blend into.”

Quimby is the co-founder and managing trustee of Animals Fiji, a nonprofit committed to animal welfare and veterinary support across the Fiji region.

Before her international efforts, Quimby competed for UNCW’s swim team and graduated with a degree in communication studies. During her time at UNCW, she received the Wentworth Travel Fellowship, supporting a trip to Dublin her junior year.

“That trip sparked the international travel bug within me,” Quimby said. She would later visit England and Spain and ultimately move to New Zealand.

While working in New Zealand as a day-trip tour guide doing bungee jumps multiple times a week, Quimby was offered a sales and marketing manager position for a tourist company in Fiji. There, she volunteered locally, cleaning kennels and working full-time in tourism. Yet, she began to notice a level of animal suffering that wasn’t the result of cruelty alone, but of limited access to veterinary care, resources, education and long-term planning.

“In 2011, a small group of us came together and formed Animals Fiji, initially as a fundraising body to support existing services. In 2012, after a year of providing financial and operational support to the SPCA Fiji Clinic, Animals Fiji assumed responsibility for the clinic when it became clear it could no longer be reliably staffed or stocked,” said Quimby.

Soon, Animals Fiji’s growth extended rapidly and Quimby left her paid employment to run the organization full-time as its managing trustee. Today, Animals Fiji operates four permanent clinics across the region and supports more than 30 outreach clinics each year. Their work extends beyond Fiji, with regional veterinary and population management support provided in countries such as Tonga and the Marshall Islands.

Quimby is now a citizen of Fiji, having married a Kiwi, or New Zealand native, and raising their children as true third-culture kids. Whether it’s in the states or abroad, Quimby’s efforts are only growing.

“Home for us isn’t defined by one country,” said Quimby, “but by the mix of cultures, values and experiences that shape how we live and see the world.”