Mayor's Alliance Represented at Three Out-of-State Conferences in May
This month, Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals President Jane Hoffman was a featured speaker at the Humane Society of the United States' 2010 Animal Care Expo in Nashville, TN (May 12–15). Jane presented in tandem with Abigail Smith, Executive Director of the SPCA of Tompkins County, NY, on "The Next Challenge," an exploration of some of the challenges a community can overcome and sustain its success in saving lives.
The program was a part of an inspiring, four-part, all-day seminar sponsored by Maddie's Fund on how to achieve a no-kill nation by 2015. The seminar was created especially for animal control agencies, traditional shelters, adoption guarantee agencies, boards of directors, executive directors, shelter staff, and volunteers.
Meanwhile, a three-hour drive away, Jenny Coffey, LCSW and director of a Mayor's Alliance pilot program, Pets & People in Crisis, gave a presentation on animal hoarding intervention at the 2010 Veterinary Social Work Summit at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville, TN. The summit brought together professionals interested in learning and sharing the ethics and practice of caring for people who care for animals, and healing through these relationships.
The following weekend, Melissa Donaldson, Coordinator of Veterinary Care and APO Oversight for the Mayor's Alliance, addressed audiences at the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement 2010 Conference in Newark, NJ. Melissa spoke about her experience working in different animal shelters and the range of issues, feelings, and coping mechanisms associate with her shelter experience.
