Q&A with Lindsay McCall

Please join us in welcoming Lindsay McCall as HSSC’s new Executive Director! If Lindsay looks familiar to you, it’s because she’s been an integral member of our leadership team since 2016 – first serving as our Director of Animal Care and most recently as our Director of Operations! She succeeds our former Executive Director, Wendy Welling, who stepped down from the role this summer to focus on her family’s business.

We are deeply grateful to Wendy for her leadership over the years. Her commitment to the animals and strategic thinking ensured we could sustain our lifesaving mission through wildfires, floods and the Coronavirus pandemic. And, through this time of continued challenges, we are beyond thankful and excited that the torch has been passed to Lindsay!

“On behalf of the HSSC Board of Directors,” said Kati Aho, HSSC’s Board President, “we want to thank Wendy for her years of service as our Executive Director. She’s been an outstanding leader bringing insight, consistency and an incredible ability to adapt. She has brought so much to the organization and will be missed. The Board of Directors is very pleased to welcome Lindsay to her new role. Lindsay has a strong background in animal welfare, is forward-thinking and takes on the new role with enthusiasm and knowledge.”

We recently asked Lindsay to share her thoughts on where we’ve been and where we’re going, as we continually strive to create an even brighter future for the animals:

Since you first joined HSSC as Director of Animal Care in 2016, you’ve played a key role in progressing so many of HSSC’s lifesaving initiatives. What is your vision for keeping us on the forefront (and beyond!) of responsive animal care?

2022 will be a pivotal year for HSSC! We are recovering from a period in our history that’s given us the chance to improve collaboration as an industry. What started as a means to problem solve during unprecedented times, has resulted in new insights and opportunities. We’ve been lucky enough to have some of the brightest minds in our industry here at HSSC, and this past year has really ignited excitement in every branch of our operation to not only be at the forefront of all things “animal sheltering”, but to be active in leading the way alongside industry leaders. This has included forming groups with other local shelter executives to create a needs-based appraisal of our local community resources. Additionally, we extend this to other working groups whose main goal is to take data driven concepts that have been identified through the last few years and turn them into workable curricula for animal welfare programs.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the animal sheltering world? What lessons have we learned to move forward with?

Enough time has passed since the start of the pandemic that we have seen concrete evidence of positive change! Believe it or not, our fields are seeing the silver lining in being stuck at home. The human-animal bond has been given the highlight it deserves. Many pets and their families benefited from mutual emotional support. As a result, we see people truly embracing that this important bond sustains us when times are tough. We’ve been faced with tough economic times and continue to strive to find ways to ensure our donor dollars are used as wisely and efficiently as possible. This pandemic is not over yet, and we are certainly seeing the impact of strained financial resources – both in our industry and here at the shelter.Yet we know we are in one of the most resilient communities in California and look forward to successfully overcoming any challenges ahead.

Tell us about your pets!

Earlier this year I lost my beloved dog Franki to old age. She has been my north star and driving inspiration since the day I met her. My career focus can be directly linked to the love I have for her and the guide she has been on my path in animal welfare. I also have another dog, Bird. She is a very short-statured bully breed who’s a clown with four legs! She always snorts and waddles around my house with a huge smile on her face. The sound of her wagging tail can often be heard on kitchen cupboard doors and hallway walls. She is just one happy gal! We share our home with an older kitty, GoGo, a very special cat who only has eyes for me.

What keeps you up at night?

Sharing my bed with a snoring dog!

What are you most excited about for the future?

We have so much to be grateful for here at HSSC. I couldn’t be more excited about our team and supporters looking ahead to our bright future. We are keenly focused on the needs of animals and people, in our community and beyond. We have plans to broaden our already strong safety net programs, expanding our services to bring a surrounding, 360-degree approach to pet and owner support. This will include having programs available that very few shelters in the country have. We are excited about our future and look to be a beacon for those seeking assistance, refuge or inspiration.

BECOME A HUMANE PARTNER

With your sustaining monthly gift of as little as $10 a month, you can bring comfort, healing, love and joy to our animals all year long. Visit

HumaneSocietySoCo.org/donate/

For more information, please contact Priscilla Locke at (707) 577-1911 or plocke@humanesocietysoco.org

Bequests

MAY - OCTOBER 2021 Chester & Gloria Galeazzi Living Trust

Gandola Family Trust

Virginia M. Terzian Revocable Trust Betty R. Waters Revocable Trust Willis Revocable Inter Vivos Trust