Carol Kline is a Professor and the Director of the Hospitality and Tourism Management program at Appalachian State University. Her teaching and research interests have historically focused broadly on tourism sustainability however, she now focuses her research entirely on animal ethics and animal protection in tourism, and she teaches a course called Animals, Tourism, & Sustainability. She is part of the Race, Ethnicity, and Social Equity in Tourism (RESET) initiative, which includes animals within the study of social equity. She is founder of Fanimal Inc., a nonprofit that helps individuals find animal-focused careers. She is co-Director of UPLIFT Tourism, an ARPA funded program supporting rural tourism in North Carolina.