Courses For Everyone:
Keynote Address: The Moral Underpinnings of Animal Protection and a Call to Action, Wayne Pacelle, CEO of The Humane Society of the United States
Mr. Pacelle will discuss the ethical underpinnings of the modern animal protection movement, examine progress to date, and lay out a future plan of action in the political, corporate, and cultural realms.
What’s New? NM Animal Sheltering Services Board, Valerie Espinoza, Santa Fe County Clerk and Board Member
Board members have been appointed, meetings have started, and the Board is hard at work. Learn about who’s on the Board and what the Board is working on. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.
What’s New? New Mexico Spay Neuter Impact Project, Helga Schimkat, J.D., Consultant
Learn about an upcoming statewide efforts to increase spay/neuter in New Mexico and to decrease companion animal overpopulation.
Dealing with Difficult People, Robert Roop, PhD, SPHR, The Humane Society of the United States
This proactive workshop is designed to help you constructively cope with “toxic” people. During this presentation, participants will learn how to identify different types of difficult people, develop strategies for communicating with them, and focus on practical skills to manage problem people in their organization effectively. Topics will also include well-being techniques for the animal care professional and how to apply situational power throughout the conflict resolution cycle.
Nutrition for Shelter Animals, Richard Patton, PhD, Consultant
This course will address a number of nutritional issues including: common misconceptions about a “good diet” and why they're wrong; what to look for that indicates quality food; signals of poor diet in the animal and on the food label; and, the sleeping monster called “behavior” (people and pets).
Courses For Staff:
Move over Rover! Cats Take Top Place Normally Held by Spot!, Jennifer Orme, Consultant
With over 88 million cats in households and shelters receiving cats at a record number, how do we house them to keep them healthy and safe for re-homing? This introductory workshop will discuss the facts and myths regarding cats and cat behavior, the top five things you can do to help reduce stress for cats, and the do's and don'ts regarding cat handling and sheltering.
Animal Capture and Handling, Bill Brothers, President, Animal Care Equipment & Services, Inc.
To capture or handle an animal safely and humanely, you need certain tools. These tools can be used correctly -- or incorrectly. Learn the latest in new gear and techniques and how to use them properly.
Successful Volunteer Programs, Kerry Peavey, Volunteer and Event Manager, Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society
In this course you will learn how to formalize your volunteer program, recruit new volunteers that fit with your organization, help your staff work better with volunteers and deal with challenging volunteers.
Meet Your Match™ Canine-ality™: The Human Connection, Kelly Cunningham, ASPCA
During this 90-minute workshop you'll learn about each component of the Meet Your Match™ Canine-ality™ Adoption Program and hear about how each is integral to making long-lasting matches. You'll also hear about some exciting results achieved from program implementation around the country and reflect upon the key elements that made those successes possible. Lastly, you'll find out where to go to get more information on Canine-ality™ and see some of the great supportive resources and materials we have for shelters using the program.
Meet Your Match™ Feline-ality™: Research and Results, Kelly Cunningham, ASPCA
During this 90-minute workshop you'll hear highlights from the 2 years of research and development that went into the Meet Your Match™ Feline-ality™ Adoption Program. In addition, you'll learn about the various components of the program and where to go for more information. Lastly, you'll walk away with a few ideas on how to affect change now for the cats in your care.
Management Track:
Strategic Discussion vs. Strategic Planning: It's More Than a Dusty Report on the Shelf!, Clyde W. Kunz, CFRE, Consultant
In order to prepare our organizations for a successful future, we need to make sure that all eyes -- Board, volunteers, and staff -- are focused on our ultimate goal. In this session, we will talk about ways to establish meaningful organizational goals and methods to keep everyone working toward them.
Successful Foster Programs, Panel
Foster programs are life savers. Foster parents save countless lives each year by bottle feeding, socializing and nurturing those pets that need extra TLC. Do you want to save more lives, adopt out more balanced pets and decrease the need to euthanize for space, behavior or health? Learn how to build or improve your foster program from experienced experts who will share what works, what doesn't work and the essential elements of a sustainable foster program.
NM Legislature: The Basics, Viki Elkey and Helga Schimkat, Consultants
Do you feel a little lost when people start talking about bills, committees, short and long sessions, and all that other jargon that you hear when people are talking about the New Mexico legislature? This course will teach you the basics of how the New Mexico Legislature works and what all these things mean so that you can follow animal bills and state funding for animal causes and get involved!
Marketing to the Hispanic Community, Marissa Segundo, Public Relations Manager, SPCA Tampa Bay, and Deanna Sauceda, Anchor, KRQE News 13 "This Morning"
Advance your organization's communications skills, increase adoptions and educate by reaching out to Spanish-speaking members of the community. Broaden your horizons and your constituent base by utilizing media, networking, and other resources that are key to more than 44.5 million Spanish speakers in the US today. Learn how your staff, volunteers and board members can work together to open doors to an often untapped population in animal sheltering.
Three Keys To Making Your Website Work For You, Nora Hawkins, SPCA Tampa Bay Marketing Director
How do you handle the competing priorities of mission-driven marketing and fundraising? Are you reaching more people, raising more money and running more efficiently? Promoting pet adoption, spay-neuter programs and all your other shelter services along with special events, community fundraisers and annual giving campaigns is an online balancing act. Learn how to structure website space and email communications for improved marketing success. Look beyond the graphics and explore the connectivity of online/offline constituent relationship management. Gain more understanding of your online service options.
Government and Law:
The Federal Animal Welfare Act and New Mexico Animal Law, Marsha Baum, MS, JD, Professor of Law, UNM Law School, and Helga Schimkat, JD, Consultant
This course will give you an overview of the federal Animal Welfare Act and will teach you about how it affects companion animals and animal shelters. You might be surprised to learn what activity is and is not regulated by the federal government as well as how the government enforces the law. The course will also address those New Mexico laws that affect animal shelters.
The Government and NM Animal Shelters, Panel
Sometimes it can be a bit confusing to know which State agency or board to call when you have a new or unusual animal issue to deal with or are subject to regulations that you don’t quite understand. This panel will discuss the roles of a variety of State agencies and boards that handle animal issues, or issues that affect animal shelters, to give the audience a better sense of whom to call for different situations.
Animal Cruelty and Law, Helga Schimkat, JD, Consultant
How many times have you heard someone say “That’s animal cruelty!” Well is it? In this class we will look at the many elements of the New Mexico animal cruelty law and how they affect our work. From animal control officers to shelter staff to volunteers, each of us is affected by the laws, rules and case law that pertain to animal cruelty.
Shelter Medicine:
Shelter Medicine Track: Infectious Diseases, Sandra Newbury, DVM, Koret Shelter Medicine Program, Center for Companion Animal Health, U C Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
This full day of courses will focus on infectious diseases in the animal shelter, including transmission, sanitation, vaccination, disease detection, isolation and separation, the relationship between stress and infectious disease, population management, respiratory disease (including information about distemper), parvoviruses and ringworm. Veterinarians may receive up to 7 credit hours for the New Mexico continuing education requirements.
