(Blackwood, NJ) – Directors from two of Camden County’s leading animal welfare organizations will be speaking at the Best Friends National Conference in Atlantic City on July 13 through 15 at Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center. Camden County Animal Shelter (CCAS) Executive Director Vicki Rowland and Animal Welfare Association (AWA) Executive Director Maya Richmond will be among those chosen to speak at the conference to highlight the best practices in animal welfare services.
“These organizations work collaboratively to make sure that animals in our community have shelter and eventually find a permanent home with a family who cares for them,” said Freeholder Jonathan Young, liaison to the Camden County Animal Shelter. “Camden County is a leader in the no-kill movement which focuses on finding lifesaving solutions for these animals.”
The Camden County Animal Shelter is an open-admission progressive shelter that holds the exclusive animal service contracts for the City of Camden and 17 other municipalities in the county. The shelter frequently works with the AWA, a private, limited-intake shelter, by sharing resources and collaborating on common objectives.
In recent years, the CCAS and AWA have focused on increasing pet adoption, decreasing the number of stray animals in the community, and finding new ways to manage homeless animal populations with humane, no-kill initiatives.
“Because we are able to combine the leadership and resources of these two organizations, Camden County continues to do more, and work harder, for animals and pets than ever before,” Young said. “In the last four years we have successfully demonstrated that you can solve difficult problems like these with trust, cooperation, and collaboration.”
Vicki Rowland has led the CCAS and the Animal Welfare Society of Camden County (AWSCC) since 2013. She has 10 years of experience in animal welfare management, marketing, planning, and development.
Maya Richmond has 15 years of experience in animal welfare and before joining the AWA in 2009, she was the director of operations and program development for the Maryland SPCA in Baltimore.