Dr. Barbara Mangold's veterinary career has taken her everywhere from the Bronx Zoo to Disney's Animal Kingdom. After she graduated from the University of Maryland in 1985 with a Bachelor's Degree in Animal Science, Dr. Mangold attended the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. She was awarded her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1990 and continued her clinical training during a 13-month internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Mangold worked at a private practice in Connecticut for a number of years. With a passion for and interest in exotic animals, Dr. Mangold started a three-year residency in zoo medicine at the Bronx Zoo. She headed to Florida from the Bronx, where she was part of the opening team for Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom. After four years of practicing medicine at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Dr. Mangold returned to the Bronx Zoo as a clinic veterinarian.