Cut and paste from an e-mail:
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Marc A. Ott, City Manager
DATE: December 22, 2010
SUBJECT: Chief Animal Services Officer
As you may know, we conducted a very thorough national search to find the very best candidate to serve as our Chief Animal Services Officer.
We certainly believe we are at a critical juncture of identifying an individual who will continue to transform our Animal Services area and our No Kill efforts as a national standard.
During this very important search, we were able to identify a strong pool of candidates but ultimately, we have determined Ms. Abigail Smith as our top candidate. We received a lot of positive comments and see her as a proven leader with a creative can-do attitude.
Currently, Ms. Smith is the Executive Director of the Tompkins County SPCA in Ithaca, New York where the organization is completing its tenth year of operations as a successful open admissions “No Kill” shelter. This past year, the Tompkins County SPCA was able to save more than 94% of the animals that they brought in and are on pace to meet the same live release rate this year. She brings a wealth of experience in shelter management, program development and community engagement and collaboration. She enjoys, and takes pride, in her ability to bridge gaps between governments, animal welfare organizations, rescue groups and the community and create collaborative relationships among all.
As a next step to filling this most critical position, I have directed Assistant City Manager Bert Lumbreras to lead a group of individuals, representing both staff and interested stakeholders, to Ithaca, New York to do a site visit of the Tompkins County SPCA. We hope to gain valuable insight into the work and leadership that Ms. Smith provides at this shelter to ensure Austin is getting the very best person to lead our community in animal welfare.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to let me know.
