Speaker 2: I grew up in the South.
Speaker 1: If you can't tell by my accent, but actually I
Speaker 1: was born in Florida. My dad was in the Navy
Speaker 1: at the time, so I was initially a military brat,
Speaker 1: and then we moved around this great country, mostly focusing
Speaker 1: on Southern states. I went to Wake Forest University.
Speaker 2: Go Deacons.
Speaker 1: Then I finished my master's at wake Forest, my PhD
Speaker 1: at the University of.
Speaker 2: North Carolina and in Greensboro.
Speaker 1: And so I come to you with a great deal
Speaker 1: of Southern background, but a lot of work in the
Speaker 1: nonprofit space, and that's why i'm here today.
Speaker 3: Well, we're thrilled to talk to you, and we have
Speaker 3: a little bit in common because I used to live
Speaker 3: in Raleigh for eight years. So I know your schools
Speaker 3: very well, and they're great schools, and I'm glad you
Speaker 3: got a great education. And that's where i'd like to
Speaker 3: start about going out of school.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 3: Obviously, we're here to talk a lot about American humane
Speaker 3: and there's so many cool things starting in eighteen seventy seven,
Speaker 3: what you've done over almost fifteen years now, which is
Speaker 3: absolutely incredible, about the programs and ways to give and
Speaker 3: all the cool things and what you exactly do. But
Speaker 3: coming out of school, what did you want to do?
Speaker 3: Because you've got a really diverse background. I mean, you've
Speaker 3: been in finance and then a nonprofit. But what do
Speaker 3: you want to do coming out of school?
Speaker 1: So when I graduated from Wake Forest, I knew. I
Speaker 1: knew that I wanted to be a university treasurer.
Speaker 3: Really, yes, that's very specific. I know it was very specific.
Speaker 1: I said, I'm going to get my PhD, I'm going
Speaker 1: to finish my MBA, I'm going to have lots of certifications.
Speaker 1: In fact, I have a lot of financial and accounting
Speaker 1: certifications for a career as a university treasurer. And my
Speaker 1: mother said, stop getting so many certifications. You have more
Speaker 1: certifications than you do children. So I think you've proven
Speaker 1: a point. I said, thank you, Mom. I guess I did.
Speaker 3: And so when I.
Speaker 1: Finished up my PhD, I was still working full time
Speaker 1: at Wake Forest University. I loved my time at that
Speaker 1: gorgeous campus, both as a student and then as a
Speaker 1: as a staff member assistant dean for Finance and administration
Speaker 1: with the NBA School and all. And I had an opportunity.
Speaker 1: You know, those opportunities come and knocking.
Speaker 3: Sometimes sometimes out of nowhere, out of.
Speaker 1: Nowhere, and it was Walkovia Bank, and they said to me, Robin,
Speaker 1: we're creating a new think tank and philanthropy and we
Speaker 1: know that you have the financial skills that will align
Speaker 1: you nicely with our wealth management division, but we would
Speaker 1: like for someone to specialize in the nonprofit space, and
Speaker 1: we believe you have those skills. So I became the
Speaker 1: first ever director of the Center for plan Giving in
Speaker 1: the Center for Philanthropy at Walkovia. And but before I
Speaker 1: turned around, I was fortunate to have over five thousand
Speaker 1: nonprofit clients in our team's book of business that I
Speaker 1: ran and went around the country met with all these
Speaker 1: incredible charities, and I knew then that this was my
Speaker 1: heart and my life was that I was going to
Speaker 1: work in the philanthropic sector, and that I wanted my
Speaker 1: life to be devoted not just to serving as a
Speaker 1: university treasure, which is noble and indeed very import us,
Speaker 1: but to be more engaged in meaningful social impact. And
Speaker 1: that was learned through my first career step at Walcovia Bank,
Speaker 1: leading their Center for Planned Getting and their Philanthropic Strategies unit.
Speaker 3: And Robin, that takes us to twenty ten, about fifteen
Speaker 3: years ago. Now I do want to ask you this, yes,
Speaker 3: because we're leading into the job at American Humane. Now
Speaker 3: you've talked a little bit about your diverse background and
Speaker 3: what you've done. I can certainly see why they were
Speaker 3: interested in you joining the organization, but why did you
Speaker 3: want to join them?
Speaker 1: So I felt that this was an opportunity for me
Speaker 1: to learn the philanthropic space from a key driver. You
Speaker 1: cannot build social good in the NGO sector without financial resources,
Speaker 1: and I had a skill set in the financial resources,
Speaker 1: as my mother told me, more certifications than children, right,
Speaker 1: and a PhD in nonprofit finance.
Speaker 2: So I knew that I had.
Speaker 1: A talent where that was and that that could be
Speaker 1: a very important factor in working in social impact. I
Speaker 1: wasn't sure which side I would stay on. What I
Speaker 1: stay on the wealth management side, serving to drive as
Speaker 1: sets into the nonprofit sector, or would I actually go
Speaker 1: into the nonprofit sector. And that's when again, opportunity came
Speaker 1: a knocking, as we say in the South, and it
Speaker 1: was the Pew Charitable Trust. The Pew Charitable Trust grew
Speaker 1: from a bank. Did you know that I did? Yes,
Speaker 1: It's fascinating story. And so when Pew came to me
Speaker 1: and offered me a very unique position, it was a
Speaker 1: wonderful opportunity to join one of the world's top think
Speaker 1: tanks in philanthropy to drive social good. And so I
Speaker 1: immediately took that opportunity and spent some formative years of
Speaker 1: my career with the Pew Charitable Trust, which again was
Speaker 1: the launching pad for me to become the CEO for
Speaker 1: American Humane.
Speaker 3: Right and also probably just a great training ground too
Speaker 3: for you right for the next level.
Speaker 1: Remarkable Rebecca Raimel was the CEO oft PEW at the time.
Speaker 1: I learned so much from Rebecca. I learned so much
Speaker 1: from the senior leaders at PEW, importantly how to drive
Speaker 1: incremental change, how to evaluate effective programs. So, while I
Speaker 1: knew the financial resources of the nonprofit sector, the program
Speaker 1: impact and program effectiveness, the evaluation of those the key
Speaker 1: performance indicators for social good, it was a question mark.
Speaker 1: I didn't have that skill set until I had the
Speaker 1: opportunity to experience PEW.
Speaker 3: Well, I am glad you brought that up. I want
Speaker 3: to divert just a little bit because I think there's
Speaker 3: a good teaching lesson for our future entrepreneurs or people
Speaker 3: who would like to lead a company. Yes, And my
Speaker 3: daughter is now an aspiring filmmaker in New York. And
Speaker 3: we've talked about this a lot since our high school
Speaker 3: years about learning everything behind the scenes. If you want
Speaker 3: to be a director or cinematographer, learn what everybody else does,
Speaker 3: learn about blocking, lighting, audio, da da da da da
Speaker 3: da da. That way, when you're in a little bit
Speaker 3: more charge, you know what everybody's doing around you. That's
Speaker 3: kind of what you did. You were getting all these
Speaker 3: skill sets before becoming president and CEO of American Humaney.
Speaker 3: And I imagine I'm not going to assume, but it
Speaker 3: paid off.
Speaker 2: Right, paid off. I'm still I'm still here. We have
Speaker 2: incredible impact.
Speaker 1: We've taken our work, as you know, from one country
Speaker 1: to forty five countries is very definitely incredible years. And
Speaker 1: the number of animals we impact, again, we count them,
Speaker 1: have put paul print, footprint, you know, you name it.
Speaker 1: We count these incredible creatures that we serve are over
Speaker 1: one point five billion each and every year that we
Speaker 1: have touched through our programs. And I feel very fortunate
Speaker 1: and blessed every day to be in the space.
Speaker 3: Well you should and I know you're working very hard too,
Speaker 3: because you're an accomplished author and podcaster and running a company.
Speaker 3: I don't know how I have time for everything, but
Speaker 3: I always know that CEOs and presidents have a lot
Speaker 3: of extra energy like a rock musician, and I think
Speaker 3: you have that. So let's talk about American Humane. Let's
Speaker 3: do this first, because we're going to go into the
Speaker 3: history and what you do. But what's the mission statement?
Speaker 1: You know what it's at American Humane. We are there
Speaker 1: to uplift the healing power of the human animal bond.
Speaker 1: We are the nations and I dare say the world's
Speaker 1: biggest champion and protector of animals. So when I think
Speaker 1: about American Humaine, I think about rescue, care and protect
Speaker 1: animals no matter where they are, they know no geographic bounds.
Speaker 3: So some of our listeners are going to be new
Speaker 3: to American Humane, even though it's been around since eighteen
Speaker 3: seventy seven. And I want you to talk about that
Speaker 3: in just a second, because it's truly incredibly one of
Speaker 3: the first organizations out there that is charitable. But if
Speaker 3: you were to give somebody maybe a thirty thousand foot view,
Speaker 3: Robin about what you do, what.
Speaker 1: Would you tell them we're the largest certifier of the
Speaker 1: protection of animals around the world. American Humane serves as
Speaker 1: global humane outside of our country, and we protect over
Speaker 1: one point five billion animals in all areas of our lives,
Speaker 1: from conservation, from animals on farms and ranches, from animals
Speaker 1: and zoos and aquariums, animals and entertainment and working animals.
Speaker 2: So wherever we.
Speaker 1: See an animal, American Humane has an initiative to ensure
Speaker 1: that that animal has a humane life. How do we
Speaker 1: determine what is to be humane? We get so emotional
Speaker 1: about puppies and kittens, don't we But what we go
Speaker 1: to is one of our fundamental core values is science.
Speaker 1: So we have a group of the world's top scientists
Speaker 1: who provide the critical success factors for each of our programs.
Speaker 1: And then we added something else very important as we
Speaker 1: talk about animals in our lives, and that's ethics. So
Speaker 1: we have the world's top ethicist for animals also serving
Speaker 1: at American Humane. So when I think about what we do,
Speaker 1: we rescue, we care, protect, we serve as the globe's
Speaker 1: largest voice for animal protection, and importantly, we define what
Speaker 1: it is to be humane through science. And evidence based
Speaker 1: practices wonderful.
Speaker 3: So we mentioned eighteen seventy seven a couple times, and
Speaker 3: I imagine that you did your research on the history.
Speaker 3: Can you tell us about the origins of it and
Speaker 3: exactly what it was back then to what it is today.
Speaker 1: Well, my children think I was around in eighteen seventy seven,
Speaker 1: so of course they think I was always the CEO
Speaker 1: of American Humane because they've been raised with this great
Speaker 1: charity in their lives, this great nonprofit. So in eighteen
Speaker 1: seventy seven, and our country was coming to terms with
Speaker 1: the ravages of the Civil War, they were coming to
Speaker 1: terms with cruelty and abuse and all of those horrific,
Speaker 1: horrific changes that were going on in society. And what
Speaker 1: a group of people started was this great organization called
Speaker 1: the International Humane Society. I love that at the very
Speaker 1: formation of this entity, they thought global. They were the
Speaker 1: very first champions for farm animal protections. And you might
Speaker 1: say why farm animals, And it was because the railroads
Speaker 1: were going into place. Then think about the transportation of
Speaker 1: herds and flocks from the East coast out west and
Speaker 1: the unimaginable losses to those animals lives that happened because
Speaker 1: there were no stops for water, no food, and inhumane
Speaker 1: standards of care. So it was farmers and ranchers who
Speaker 1: gathered forces with American Humane to create the very first
Speaker 1: transportation laws for animals. And that was American Humane also
Speaker 1: known as the International Humane Society, who created that in
Speaker 1: the first years of our founding. Since then we were
Speaker 1: behind the first ever child cruelty actions and laws because
Speaker 1: child welfare was associated with animals. Animals and children had
Speaker 1: no rights, and so we were the very first advocates
Speaker 1: for children and animals in the eighteen seventies and eighties
Speaker 1: and nineties, in the turn of the century. And every
Speaker 1: single major advancement we take for granted today for child
Speaker 1: protection and animal protection was actually promulgated by American Humane.
Speaker 3: Wow.
Speaker 1: So yes, eighteen seventy seven, people say, oh, we rescue
Speaker 1: animals today, and I say to them, did you know
Speaker 1: the very first rescue program occurred on the battlefields of
Speaker 1: World War One. Think about trench warfare. Think about the
Speaker 1: movie Warhorse. The Steven Spielberg so puts on the screen
Speaker 1: and touches our hearts and our minds and our souls.
Speaker 1: That was American Humane rescuing calvary horses and mules in
Speaker 1: World War It was the Secretary of War of our
Speaker 1: country that called my predecessor, doctor William Stillman, and said,
Speaker 1: doctor Stillman, we need you, We need you to go overseas.
Speaker 1: Before US boys went overseas, it was American Humaine caring
Speaker 1: for sixty one thousand war horses a month in World
Speaker 1: War One. That was the very first idea of animal rescue.
Speaker 1: And it was American Humaane.
Speaker 2: It was there and.
Speaker 3: How historic, incredible. Well, this is a good segue into programs.
Speaker 3: And you've got nine that are featured on the website,
Speaker 3: and I don't know if you want to go through
Speaker 3: all of them very quickly, but maybe you can touch
Speaker 3: on some of them, and not necessarily the more important
Speaker 3: than the others, but can you go through some of
Speaker 3: the programs.
Speaker 1: For us absolutely Well, we talked about rescue, and to
Speaker 1: this very day, we're rescuing animals that were left behind
Speaker 1: in the ravages of Hurricane Eleen and Hurricanes Milton. We're
Speaker 1: there for fires and floods this very day with six
Speaker 1: rescue caches stationed in high prone disaster areas. American Humaine's
Speaker 1: there to reunite you with your furry best friend in
Speaker 1: a time of disaster and crisis. We've been doing that
Speaker 1: for well over one hundred years. We think about the
Speaker 1: idea of animals and film and entertainment, and you already
Speaker 1: know us. There are no Animals Were Harmed program. We're
Speaker 1: on thousands of production days every year ensuring that animals
Speaker 1: you see in film and entertainment are humanly treated and
Speaker 1: that those animal stars are given the care they so deserve.
Speaker 1: You already know us through our American Humane Certified program.
Speaker 1: If you eat a cage free egg or enjoy a
Speaker 1: butterball turkey at Thanksgiving time, those are all American Humane Certified.
Speaker 1: That program's been around almost twenty five years and allows
Speaker 1: us to make sure that animals aren't farms and ranches
Speaker 1: have a humane life. It's very, very important you already
Speaker 1: know us through our conservation program. If you enjoy some
Speaker 1: of the world's top zoos and aquariums where you're introduced
Speaker 1: to an incredible megafauna and you fall in love with
Speaker 1: a rhino or elephant, those zoos and aquariums that have
Speaker 1: our Good Housekeeping Silver Approval or American Humane Certified Seal
Speaker 1: are the world's very and We're very proud of that initiative.
Speaker 1: And of course you may know us, particularly if you're
Speaker 1: a veteran. There we our Pups for Patriots Service dog program.
Speaker 1: We founded that over seven years ago, providing wounded warriors
Speaker 1: with those healing paws and healing leashes, and we actually
Speaker 1: save both ends of the leash. We've placed over three
Speaker 1: hundred healing leashes on this very day and saved both
Speaker 1: lives and the ends.
Speaker 2: Of the leash.
Speaker 3: And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Everybody, It's
Speaker 3: just absolutely amazing. I do want to ask you a
Speaker 3: question about leadership, Robin, and you're such a large organization,
Speaker 3: and I know you have staff, and then you have managers,
Speaker 3: and then you have people that work across the globe
Speaker 3: with you. Yes, when it comes to the vision of
Speaker 3: the organization, but also your vision, morals, ethics, and how
Speaker 3: you want things to go down. Because there are so
Speaker 3: many people, how does the work get trickled down to
Speaker 3: make sure that the culture is stole there, your message
Speaker 3: is still there. Everybody's having a great time with those
Speaker 3: work life balances, but still saying this is American humane.
Speaker 3: We're doing all the same thing's the same mission for
Speaker 3: everybody right across the board.
Speaker 1: With that many people, well, we do have a lot
Speaker 1: of people, and most importantly, all of our people care
Speaker 1: about those animals. So this mission is personal. This mission
Speaker 1: is we act professionally in terms of the way we
Speaker 1: follow our core values that we instituted fourteen years ago.
Speaker 1: Core values of a culture that embraces kindness, compassion, personal excellence,
Speaker 1: accountability to the mission. Those are entwined in everyone's individual
Speaker 1: performance goals.
Speaker 2: Isn't that wonderful.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So when we.
Speaker 1: Talk about a culture of civility, it's because we are
Speaker 1: running the world's oldest humanitarian organization. So those values of
Speaker 1: what is to be humane to animals are reflected in
Speaker 1: our culture. And I believe I'm the number one culture
Speaker 1: champion right Well, I have to be. I have to be,
Speaker 1: and so I recognize that I have. It's what Betty
Speaker 1: White told me before she passed. She said, Rob, and
Speaker 1: I'm handing over to you heavy mantle of responsibility. I said,
Speaker 1: oh no, Betty, I don't know about this. She said,
Speaker 1: I'm getting old and I want to hand over to
Speaker 1: you that heavy mantle of responsibility of animal welfare and protection.
Speaker 1: Gave me goosebumps. It still does, and I share that
Speaker 1: story to each and every colleague at American Humane. It's
Speaker 1: our heavy mantle of responsibility to be that voice for
Speaker 1: animals to be humane, and that starts with how we
Speaker 1: are with each other and how we hold each other
Speaker 1: to excellence, accountability, kindness, compassion, and most importantly love.
Speaker 3: I love that. That's fantastic. And Betty Wade, if you
Speaker 3: don't know, just looved animals, all animals. She was wonderful
Speaker 3: and uh quite a treasure. So I'm glad you've got
Speaker 3: some time with her. I think that's really special.
Speaker 1: She was our oldest supporter and champion. Seventy five years
Speaker 1: of her ninety nine year life she was engaged with
Speaker 1: American Humane.
Speaker 3: Amazing, absolutely amazing. I do want to talk to you
Speaker 3: about challenges. And I always tell people in this series
Speaker 3: that when we talk to leaders and CEOs and entrepreneurs
Speaker 3: and presidents of the series that it's always windyst at
Speaker 3: the top. And sometimes you know, when you have your issues,
Speaker 3: there's not a lot of people that you can relate
Speaker 3: with and talk to you about your problems. So I'm
Speaker 3: here for you. So, but challenges in the industry, are
Speaker 3: there any presenting you and your team right now.
Speaker 1: Well, first of all, let me tell you who I
Speaker 1: do tell my challenges to. His name is Julius Caesar,
Speaker 1: and he's his most perfect cat in the world.
Speaker 3: So I have to sell of it. Julius Caesar, here's
Speaker 3: it all. Listen. Oh, he's a great listener.
Speaker 1: He purs going through it, and he also gets his
Speaker 1: tuna every morning at six am because he's an early
Speaker 1: riser king. But I respect that lovely. So he is
Speaker 1: certainly a great confident. But when I think about challenges
Speaker 1: in this space, first and foremost, there's always the challenges
Speaker 1: of resources, and there's never enough to protect the animals
Speaker 1: in Africa to the animals in our own backyard. And
Speaker 1: so I say resources are always a challenge. But that's
Speaker 1: where I think I had, early on in my career
Speaker 1: a great.
Speaker 2: Talent with finances.
Speaker 1: So I ensure that there are key performance indicators with
Speaker 1: every dollar that we spend, and that we hold each
Speaker 1: other accountable to using our financial resources with excellence, to
Speaker 1: expect that we have impact and accountability, and that we
Speaker 1: measure our social impact. So first and foremost is a challenge,
Speaker 1: never enough resources, But that makes us more responsible with
Speaker 1: the resources that we have. Secondly, I don't think people
Speaker 1: understand the crises with animals. They think, oh, Robin, you
Speaker 1: get to work with puppies and kittens all day, And
Speaker 1: I say, on some days those are the great ones.
Speaker 1: Churs I had the best cat ever with Julie is
Speaker 1: at home. But I also think about those animals who
Speaker 1: have no voice, and we are facing what people don't
Speaker 1: understand is real, and that is the sixth mass extinction,
Speaker 1: where one million species will be gone in our children's
Speaker 1: lifetime twenty twenty five years. The very web of life
Speaker 1: on this earth as we know it will not be
Speaker 1: the same. So as I think about those animal advocates
Speaker 1: out there, it's important for us to understand that it's
Speaker 1: more than our companion animals in our lives. We must
Speaker 1: be better stewards of the earth because the loss of
Speaker 1: species and the loss of individual animals matters today.
Speaker 2: More than ever.
Speaker 3: All right, let's talk about a good story. Now. I know,
Speaker 3: with almost being fifteen years at the organization, yes that
Speaker 3: there are probably hundreds of great stories, but maybe you
Speaker 3: could just share one with us about And this is
Speaker 3: how I present it when I talk to people like
Speaker 3: you that are in charge of organizations that are doing
Speaker 3: some incredible things. This is why we get up every
Speaker 3: day because that happened. Do you have a story for us?
Speaker 1: I have lots of stories, I know I do. That's
Speaker 1: an unfortunate question for me given a limited time of
Speaker 1: a podcast. So I'll tell you one. I'll talk about
Speaker 1: Mighty Mitchell. Mighty Mitchell is very, very cute and charming boy,
Speaker 1: and his T shirt said Mighty Mitchell. I took Mighty
Speaker 1: Mitchell to Capitol Hill one day.
Speaker 2: Man, you know why.
Speaker 1: Mighty Mitchell was winning his battle against a horrible form
Speaker 1: of childhood cancer. Mighty Mitchell was one of the first
Speaker 1: kiddos to participate in one of American Humane's innovative clinical
Speaker 1: trials that work to prove the efficacy of the use
Speaker 1: of therapy dogs for kids with cancer. This was one
Speaker 1: of my dreams when I joined American Humaine. So let's
Speaker 1: talk about how we can show and prove in clinical
Speaker 1: trials and drive great effective public policy by showing the
Speaker 1: healing power of the human animal book. I brought Mighty
Speaker 1: Mitchell to Capitol Heel and he told his stories to
Speaker 1: members of Congress, and we actually had the most unbelievable
Speaker 1: study outcomes in eight children's hospitals around our great country
Speaker 1: that proved the efficacy of the use of therapy dogs
Speaker 1: for kids with cancer. And that is one of the
Speaker 1: stories of Mighty Mitchell that gives me great hope for
Speaker 1: the future because Mighty Mitchell not only a cancer survivor,
Speaker 1: but an animal lover. And I'll have to tell you
Speaker 1: it's the next generation of animal life who I will
Speaker 1: transfer this heavy mantle of responsibilities to be the animal's
Speaker 1: voice that Betty White gave.
Speaker 2: Me to them.
Speaker 3: Outstanding. Thanks for sharing that. I really appreciate that. Why
Speaker 3: don't we stay on that Capitol Hill because part of
Speaker 3: your job, I know, is advocating, yes, and not only
Speaker 3: I will talk about ways to give it, and there's
Speaker 3: many ways to give with American human we'll talk about
Speaker 3: that in just a moment. But you're probably constantly advocating,
Speaker 3: whether you're going to be going up on Capitol Hill
Speaker 3: or you're going around the world. Can you expand on
Speaker 3: that just a little bit for us.
Speaker 2: Yes, we just finished.
Speaker 1: I just finished my second documentary film, Escape from Extinction
Speaker 1: Rewilding narrated by the legendary Meryl Streep. What a joy
Speaker 1: it is to have her voice associated with this great
Speaker 1: message and cause. I'm so honored that Merrill gave up
Speaker 1: her time and talent to participate in this incredible initiative.
Speaker 1: I took Escape from Extinction and Rewilding on Capitol Hill.
Speaker 1: I wanted to make sure that members of Congress had
Speaker 1: an opportunity for a private screening that really exposed and
Speaker 1: indicated the most pressing challenges that we face, the biodiversity
Speaker 1: crisis and the loss of animals in our lives. That
Speaker 1: was an incredible opportunity to advocate for a work to
Speaker 1: protecting dangered species, work in their own backyards, to promote
Speaker 1: community gardens, work to promote the healing power of the
Speaker 1: human animal bond. That's one example. I'm taking the film
Speaker 1: to show to the EU Parliament. I'm scheduled to do
Speaker 1: that in January. I'm scheduled to show the film in
Speaker 1: November to the UK Parliament. I'm taking this one documentary
Speaker 1: film to halls of government around the world to indicate
Speaker 1: that we need to work together to create communities of change.
Speaker 1: Those can happen globally, those can happen locally, but it's
Speaker 1: important that we create communities of conversation around this very
Speaker 1: pressing issue.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm glad you have the opportunity to do this.
Speaker 3: As I watch films all the time, specially documentaries, they
Speaker 3: can be so powerful, yes, and that you're just watching
Speaker 3: that for ninety minutes however long a documentary would be,
Speaker 3: and just be able to see it right there, all
Speaker 3: in front of you. So I'm glad you're getting the
Speaker 3: opportunity to do that. I think it's wonderful.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 3: Let's talk about ways to give, because what's really cool.
Speaker 3: When I got on the website several weeks ago, when
Speaker 3: I found I was going to chat with you, I said,
Speaker 3: here's an organization as button Ut, because there are a
Speaker 3: lot of ways to give, Yes, which is cool because
Speaker 3: we're living in an age that you know, if you're
Speaker 3: just doing this one donation, that's okay, But it's so
Speaker 3: different how people give money today, or cars or anything.
Speaker 3: It doesn't matter or crypto, it doesn't matter what it is.
Speaker 3: You have many ways to give. Can you talk about
Speaker 3: that a little bit?
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely so. Anyone that wants to make a difference
Speaker 1: in the life of animals, have meaningful impact, create a
Speaker 1: legacy of compassion, actually inspire your next generation by giving
Speaker 1: your children an opportunity to make those gifts happen. You
Speaker 1: can visit americanumane dot org and actually explore our many options.
Speaker 1: I love their sophisticated gifting mechanisms through you know, a
Speaker 1: charitable trust and legacy giving through through wills and iras,
Speaker 1: which are always tax advantage giving for sure, But there's
Speaker 1: also ways to make a monthly gift, which is really
Speaker 1: important to create a program that your family identifies and
Speaker 1: resonates with. We have many veterans who make monthly donations
Speaker 1: to our Pups for Patriots Service Dog program in honor
Speaker 1: of their own service, in honor of somebody who might
Speaker 1: have passed away on a field of battle. That's a
Speaker 1: really important opportunity to have that person's legacy live on
Speaker 1: through a veteran and service dog team. How wonderful is
Speaker 1: that to be able to give that opportunity. We also
Speaker 1: see communities hit by disasters, and those are our neighbors.
Speaker 1: I've lived for a long time, as I shared with
Speaker 1: you in North Carolina, and Hurricane Helene provide a great
Speaker 1: devastation there. I give to our rescue program there. We
Speaker 1: have rescue trucks you could name after your favorite dog,
Speaker 1: so I actually have a lot of my dogs and
Speaker 1: my mother's dog on one of our rescue trucks because
Speaker 1: my mother inspired me. So I wanted to give a
Speaker 1: gift in her honor, and that's her dog on our
Speaker 1: rescue that provides so much services in our home of
Speaker 1: North Carolina. So when I see all of there's many
Speaker 1: ways to give, where's your heart? Where is your passion?
Speaker 1: If you want to give to save animals in Africa?
Speaker 1: I just bought a farm in Africa. Can you imagine
Speaker 1: we're going to rewild a place that hasn't seen white
Speaker 1: and black rhino.
Speaker 2: In two hundred years?
Speaker 3: That's incredible.
Speaker 2: I'm cutting down.
Speaker 1: Those fences in April, and I'm so excited. So join
Speaker 1: me in translocating in rhino. Well name the rhino after you.
Speaker 3: I love that, right. I guess my point to ask
Speaker 3: you about this was there's so much variety of ways
Speaker 3: you can give, and I love that you guys do
Speaker 3: that so many options. So thank you, and we'll give
Speaker 3: the website a couple more times as we finish up
Speaker 3: the conversation. If you're already having Google that we've given
Speaker 3: him once, well we'll do that again. I did want
Speaker 3: to do this before I get some final thoughts from
Speaker 3: Robin about advice. You've been in this job, as we mentioned,
Speaker 3: for almost fifteen years, and once again there's a lot
Speaker 3: of curren CEOs and entrepreneurs listening this program, but also
Speaker 3: a lot of young people that want to do whatever
Speaker 3: their journey there is, and yours is exclusive to you
Speaker 3: when we realize that. But just maybe a little advice
Speaker 3: on your journey about going because you did a lot
Speaker 3: of things before this and now you've invested almost fifteen
Speaker 3: years in this job, can you part a little advice
Speaker 3: to people that want to maybe do something someday like
Speaker 3: you do.
Speaker 1: I've always known I wanted to have a life with impact,
Speaker 1: and so I do believe the first part of my
Speaker 1: career was building those tools that I needed to be
Speaker 1: able to effectively run an NGO such as American Humane
Speaker 1: and again when you're the CEO in the ngospace, but
Speaker 1: I think this supplies across a for profit areas as well.
Speaker 1: Your passion has to be evident every single day. So
Speaker 1: my advice is you have to truly love what you do,
Speaker 1: and then you have to remember something that's so important.
Speaker 1: You have to walk that talk every day as I
Speaker 1: tell you I'm Chief Culture Officer. I work really hard,
Speaker 1: but I wouldn't expect any of my colleagues to work
Speaker 1: any harder than I do. I live this life of compassion,
Speaker 1: kindness and love because this is the space I choose
Speaker 1: to be in. I choose to be a humanitarian. Those
Speaker 1: are the values that I share in a spouse and
Speaker 1: that is how I lead American Humane and I expect
Speaker 1: our colleagues to follow along in this journey that we're
Speaker 1: on together because we have to lead by example. The
Speaker 1: world today needs much more unconditional.
Speaker 3: Love, agreed naxness.
Speaker 1: Passion, Yes, more kindness. And while we are showing this
Speaker 1: through the voice of animals, animals make us better people.
Speaker 3: They sure do. They sure do. Well said, and I'm
Speaker 3: glad that you talked about passion. That's a common theme
Speaker 3: with all of our leaders in this program. It's almost
Speaker 3: the number one deal beside surrounding yourself with people that
Speaker 3: are smarter than you and what they do and just
Speaker 3: let them run at it. But I will say this,
Speaker 3: and I relate my experiences in my industry to our
Speaker 3: listeners as well too. All the years I've gotten jobs,
Speaker 3: and some real fun jobs. As it taken me across
Speaker 3: North America. The hiring manager wants and got to know
Speaker 3: me and told me, hey, you know why I hired you.
Speaker 3: It was not because of your skill set or you're
Speaker 3: good at this. I hired you because of your passion
Speaker 3: for this business. Yes, and people really appreciate that and
Speaker 3: they can feed off it. Yes, And I just think
Speaker 3: that so powerful, folks said, I just don't want you
Speaker 3: to underestimate. Is you go into whatever turned you on
Speaker 3: to be super passionate about it, and that will take
Speaker 3: care of almost everything else.
Speaker 1: It does get you up in the morning, It sure does,
Speaker 1: and just by whatever else is happening in the world,
Speaker 1: if you can make a difference through your passion and importantly,
Speaker 1: you know, what is driving me every day is the
Speaker 1: fact that I have the privilege of working with volunteers
Speaker 1: and staff who are literally humane heroes.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: These are people who stop their own lives to rush
Speaker 1: into a disaster. These are people who are connected with
Speaker 1: veterans ensuring that suicide does not enter into their DNA
Speaker 1: and that their lives have for ever change by the
Speaker 1: matching with the service dog. These humane heroes are inspiring
Speaker 1: to me and I know they make a huge difference
Speaker 1: in our communities around the world, and a lot.
Speaker 3: Of selflessness too, and I think that's just wonderful. As
Speaker 3: we wrap up our conversation in the last thirty minutes here,
Speaker 3: I've enjoyed it so much. But what I'd like to
Speaker 3: do is get some final thoughts from you. Robin and
Speaker 3: I should really encourage people, as Robin will give the
Speaker 3: website after some final thoughts for you, we're just hitting
Speaker 3: the tip of the iceberg about what American Humane does.
Speaker 3: It really truly is incredible, and you have to check
Speaker 3: out the website and all they do, ways to give
Speaker 3: and how you can be a part of it. But
Speaker 3: if you could maybe do some final thoughts for us,
Speaker 3: the floor is yours.
Speaker 1: I always say, you can't protect what you don't love,
Speaker 1: you can't love what you don't know. So many of
Speaker 1: us have lost the connection to animals in our lives.
Speaker 1: So many of us have lost the understanding how animals
Speaker 1: make us better people. We've lost that connection to the
Speaker 1: earth as well. So I would say to all listeners,
Speaker 1: find that connection to animals, find the way that you
Speaker 1: can fall.
Speaker 2: In love again.
Speaker 1: Visit your local zoo and aquarium, bring an animal into
Speaker 1: your home, and if you can't do so, volunteer at
Speaker 1: a shelter plant, a butterfly garden, or a hummingbird feeder
Speaker 1: in your yard. Bring animals into your life, and that
Speaker 1: I will tell you will allow you to love, love
Speaker 1: your life so much and allow you to change the world.
Speaker 1: I know that many corporate leaders are listening to this
Speaker 1: podcast today and I'd like to encourage them to reach
Speaker 1: out to American Humane. Perhaps we can provide rescue training
Speaker 1: and education through an employee of giving program as well.
Speaker 1: So there's many ways to partner with American Humane to
Speaker 1: bring animals into your employees' lives.
Speaker 3: Such good words to live by. Let's give the website
Speaker 3: one more.
Speaker 2: Time, Robin, americanumaane dot org.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for this and you've given a
Speaker 3: lot and I know there's so much more to do
Speaker 3: with you and your team, the volunteers and the world
Speaker 3: and what American Human does. Thank you so much for this.
Speaker 3: We really appreciate you joining us on CEOs.
Speaker 2: You should know, thank you so much for having me