Shafonda Davis Allen, CAWA, is a nationally respected animal welfare leader whose work centers equity, community partnership, and the belief that people and pets thrive when systems are designed with compassion and access at the core. With nearly three decades of experience, she brings deep operational knowledge, policy insight, and a lived-experience lens to conversations about the future of animal well-being.

A proud Durham, North Carolina native, Shafonda began her career as an adoption counselor and advanced through every level of shelter operations, ultimately serving more than 12 years as Executive Director of the Animal Protection Society of Durham. Her leadership is marked by resilience, transparency, and a commitment to dismantling barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

Shafonda is a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator and has served on the Board of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, where she continues to contribute as a member of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. She previously served on the boards of the North Carolina Animal Federation and Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity.

Today, Shafonda is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Back to Basics Animal Welfare Leadership Consulting, where she mentors emerging leaders, supports organizations navigating complex challenges, and advocates for community-rooted solutions. Her work is grounded in shared power, strong networks, and the courage to reimagine humane care for both people and animals.

Marnie Russ created Kitten College when she saw the need for trained foster caregivers to save the most vulnerable animals in shelters. She tested and honed the concept at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington in Arlington, VA before bringing the program to shelters around the country. With Kitten College's help, Arlington went from saving 92 kittens a year in 2016 to 1547 kittens in 2022 all while maintaining a no kill live release rate. Marnie has been fostering neonatal kittens for over two decades, specializing in critical-care neonates and high-risk nursing/expectant queens.  Marnie is a recognized expert on caring for at-risk kittens. She is co-founder of the National Kitten Coalition and speaks nationally about at-risk neonatal kittens.  Her advice and expertise are sought from shelters and rescues across the country. In 2023, Marnie assisted UC Davis and the University of Wisconsin to update their neonatal kitten guidelines for mass distribution.  

 Marnie sits on multiple Boards for spay/neuter organizations throughout the county including Fox Hollow Animal Project in Montana and Caring Hands Animal Support and Education – International Advocacy.  She annually travels to third world countries assisting in international spay/neuter projects to help impact the lives of street animals in underserved areas.  

Meredith Hippert currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Kitten College. For over a decade, she has led operations for large-scale veterinary and TNR programs across the U.S. and internationally. Her extensive background includes overseeing shelter operations, managing veterinary services at a high-intake municipal shelter, and training veterinary teams in high-volume techniques. In addition to coordinating wide-reaching TNR and preventative care campaigns, Meredith provides expert consulting to help shelters strategically scale their lifesaving programs.

Shafonda Davis Allen, CAWA, is a nationally respected animal welfare leader whose work centers equity, community partnership, and the belief that people and pets thrive when systems are designed with compassion and access at the core. With nearly three decades of experience, she brings deep operational knowledge, policy insight, and a lived-experience lens to conversations about the future of animal well-being.

A proud Durham, North Carolina native, Shafonda began her career as an adoption counselor and advanced through every level of shelter operations, ultimately serving more than 12 years as Executive Director of the Animal Protection Society of Durham. Her leadership is marked by resilience, transparency, and a commitment to dismantling barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

Shafonda is a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator and has served on the Board of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, where she continues to contribute as a member of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. She previously served on the boards of the North Carolina Animal Federation and Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity.

Today, Shafonda is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Back to Basics Animal Welfare Leadership Consulting, where she mentors emerging leaders, supports organizations navigating complex challenges, and advocates for community-rooted solutions. Her work is grounded in shared power, strong networks, and the courage to reimagine humane care for both people and animals.

Accomplished animal welfare professional Jerrica Owen joined the National Animal Care & Control Association in April 2021, as the Director of Partnerships and Programs, was named as Executive Director in December 2021 and was named Chief Executive Officer in September, 2025.

Previously the Director of Strategic Initiatives for San Diego Humane Society, Jerrica supported achieving success on the organization’s primary strategies. In addition, she was the Senior Animal Response Team Leader for the San Diego Humane Society’s Emergency Response Team and has extensive experience in the field during some of our countries worst disasters supporting tactical and shelter operations for all types of animals including domestic, wildlife, and equine.

Jerrica has spent the past 2 decades dedicated to achieving lifesaving excellence and encompasses dynamic organizational leadership, charismatic characteristics, and an energetic passion that will complement the already remarkable work of the NACA. She will support driving the continued success of NACA as the national leader in professionalism and standard setting of the animal control and service profession. She is committed to inclusive engagement and resource accessibility for the industry.

Jerrica earned her Bachelor of Science Degree from California State University-Chico and holds certifications in Animal Welfare Administration (CAWA), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Organizational Leadership, and Modern Humane Resource Management. She lives in California and is a proud wife and mother to both human, fur, and shelled (Tortoise!) babies.

As a Senior Grants Specialist, Amber works with organizations applying for grants and also helps to spread awareness about Maddie and our mission.

Prior to Maddie's Fund®, she spent nine years on the adoptions team at the San Francisco SPCA where she loved working the Holiday Windows at Macy's Event and showcasing animals on the local news. Amber started as an adoption associate, became Adoptions Coordinator and was then promoted to the Adoptions Manager of the Pacific Heights SF SPCA. She even worked with Maddie's Fund during Maddie's® Pet Adoption Days and with Maddie's® Treatable Assistance Program.

Amber feels incredibly honored and humbled to be part of the Maddie's Fund team. She's been on the receiving end of Maddie's Fund grants and understands the importance of an organization's lifesaving work.

Originally from Michigan, Amber graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Creative Writing. Originally from Michigan, Amber graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Creative Writing. She currently lives in the California Central Valley with her husband, Chris, and their three cats - Dottie Dumpling Klinecat and their twinkies, Officer Nosey "Noodles" O'Malley the Elder and Toesy "Tessie" O'Malley the Lesser.

As Senior Community Solutions Initiative Specialist, Kelly's focus is on helping shelters and rescue organizations increase lifesaving through the implementation of robust foster care programs. Her role includes consulting with shelters, creating and providing training for organizations and their foster coordinators, writing and assisting with research on foster care.

Kelly previously coordinated a foster program that brought orphaned children to the United States in order to find them permanent adoptive homes, worked as the Foster Expansion Coordinator for a national study of foster care, and assisted with the behavioral foster study that was conducted at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. Her work with foster care and social media has been featured in many national publications, websites and networks, including Animal Sheltering magazine, the Huffington Post, Best Friends magazine, BarkPost, iheartdogs.com, HuffPost Live and Fox News.

Dana is the project coordinator at Detroit Animal Care and Control where she has worked for 9 years. She oversees the foster, adoption, transfer, and volunteer programs. She is also the Executive Director of Friends of DACC, the nonprofit group that supports the shelter.

Dana has a BS in Language, Literature, and Writing and a minor in Communications from Eastern Michigan University. Before finding her career in animal wellbeing, she was a proofreader. She's passionate about pit bulls, Detroiters, and reading. Her goal is to make her city a better place for pets and their people. Dana has one pit bull, DD Beans (who does not want any dog friends), and a chinchilla, Hufflepuff.

Shafonda Davis Allen, CAWA, is a nationally respected animal welfare leader whose work centers equity, community partnership, and the belief that people and pets thrive when systems are designed with compassion and access at the core. With nearly three decades of experience, she brings deep operational knowledge, policy insight, and a lived-experience lens to conversations about the future of animal well-being.

A proud Durham, North Carolina native, Shafonda began her career as an adoption counselor and advanced through every level of shelter operations, ultimately serving more than 12 years as Executive Director of the Animal Protection Society of Durham. Her leadership is marked by resilience, transparency, and a commitment to dismantling barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

Shafonda is a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator and has served on the Board of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, where she continues to contribute as a member of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. She previously served on the boards of the North Carolina Animal Federation and Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity.

Today, Shafonda is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Back to Basics Animal Welfare Leadership Consulting, where she mentors emerging leaders, supports organizations navigating complex challenges, and advocates for community-rooted solutions. Her work is grounded in shared power, strong networks, and the courage to reimagine humane care for both people and animals.