If you’re headed to beautiful Austin, TX for the American Pets Alive! Conference, we have a strong Maddie’s Fund^® showing and we hope you will seek us out!

Our busiest of the bunch, Foster Specialist Kelly Duer will be participating in four panels or roundtables. If you’re looking to really up your foster game and make it a big part of your organization, check out Building a Foster-Centric Organization. Duer, along with our own Dr. Sheila Segurson will speak on taking fostering from the sideline to starting line. Teresa Johnson and Kristen Hassen-Auerbach will also be on the panel. Then, be sure to go to Steal this! Five Free, Easy Foster Strategies to Start Now. Duer and Regan Goins will share everything you need to know to recruit more foster homes, start new programs and send more pets to foster with five strategies you can start on A.S.A.P.

Be sure to join Duer and several others at two separate roundtable discussion, Big Dogs: Follow-Up to Help People Keep Their Pets Roundtable and Big Dog Roundtable. Here you will get a chance to talk about your big dog challenges with experts from the field. 

You’ll want to grab your lunch and head to Lunch and Learn: From Pound to Community Resource with Mary Ippoliti–Smith, member of the Executive Leadership Team at Maddie’s Fund. Our Director of Education, Lisa Ward, will host her own lunch, What it Means to be a Fellow in America’s Top Shelters.  

Join Dr. Mike Greenberg for the important Community Engagement, Access to Care, and Decreasing Intake. Dr. Greenberg shares how to increase success with engagement in your community and tools to help you get there. Then, join Dr. Greenberg and Rory Adams for Using YOUR Data to Save Lives Workshop. If you want the latest data tips, whether you are a board chair, shelter director, program manager, volunteer or advocate, they can help you. 

If your team team needs a little help when difficulties seem insurmountable in times of crisis, then Building Resilience and Excitement Around Change Panel is for you.  Shelly Thompson, Director of Grants at Maddie’s Fund, along with four others will discuss what it means to be leaders of change in difficult municipalities. 

Managing Big Dogs: The New Horizon will help you gain a deeper understanding of lifesaving best practices and innovations to increase lifesaving for big dogs. Dr. Segurson and Dr. Ellen Jefferson will tackle one of the most common struggles that many shelters and rescues are facing today.  

Finally, head to Marketing and Branding to Engage Your Community Workshop to learn how to create and market your No Kill brand to your community. Our own Sharon Fletcher, Director of Marketing and Communications and Kasey Spain will lead this hot topic.   

Get your tickets for the American Pets Alive! Conference now!