Aug 31, 2021
GUEST: Rebecca Guinn is CEO of LifeLine Animal Project, which manages Atlanta’s Fulton and DeKalb County animal shelters and which opened a new shelter, adoption center and clinic in 2019. LifeLine’s community outreach effort provides free vaccines, spay/neuter and other assistance to thousands of pets belonging to underserved Atlantans. LifeLine’s community cat program, the first and largest organized trap-neuter-return assistance program in Atlanta, has sterilized and vaccinated more than 40,000 community cats; and the LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinics comprise the largest spay/neuter provider in Georgia, having performed more than 140,000 surgeries to date. Rebecca is active in the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia and is a member of Best Friends Animal Society’s No-Kill 2025 National Steering Committee.
MAIN QUESTION: How can animal welfare leaders and managers keep an eye on the big picture while staying on top of day-to-day fires?
TAKEAWAYS:
- The leader’s job is to keep the focus on the mission and to get others involved in it.
- Build a team of likeminded people, look for each person’s superpower and tap into it.
- Seek out people with skills that complement others on the team.
- We owe our best to the animals every time. Set that standard for yourself.
- Find the gaps in your community, and figure out what’s needed to close those gaps.
- Regularly ask yourself if you're solving the right problems and what you are trying to make better. Perform gap analyses; over time, you’ll get better at solving for the right problems.
- Embrace both ends of the leash.
LINKS:
- Lifeline Animal Project — website
- Leadership recommendation: Nonprofit Tech for Good website and e-newsletter