(AUSTIN, TX) December 9, 2024–Human Animal Support Services (HASS), an international project bridging the gap between human and animal welfare, announces Elkie Wills as Maddie’s® Director of Human Animal Support Services, bringing more than 20 years of animal welfare and community engagement experience to the project. Launched in 2020, HASS will reemphasize its commitment to supporting people and their pets under Elkie’s direction and continue to work with pilot and partner organizations to implement data-driven, community oriented support.
“I’ve been a long-time supporter and collaborator of the HASS project since day one,” said Elkie Wills. “To have the opportunity to expand the project’s reach, cultivate lasting change and truly make a difference for communities as well as the animal welfare industry is my driving force and I can’t wait to work alongside this team to do just that.”
Before joining HASS, Elkie served at the Humane Society of San Diego for 15 years, most recently as the Senior Director of Community Engagement. There, she developed a sincere passion for creating sustainable, community-based solutions to meet the needs of both people and pets equally. With a deep understanding of shelter operations, pet support programming and immense success in cultivating change for her community through local government and corporate partnerships. Elkie led innovative grass roots initiatives such as lost and found programming, youth education, mobile adoptions, volunteer outreach initiatives and expanded the local community pet pantry to become one of the largest in the nation, distributing more than 2.3 million meals.
As Director, Elkie will continue the project’s mission to address systemic challenges people and pets face by helping animal welfare organizations better position themselves not only as the “local shelter,” but as resource centers that connect the public with impactful social services that support both ends of the leash. In addition to regularly promoting HASS implementation resources and building strong momentum for the HASS movement, major HASS initiatives in 2025 will include the continuation of the Competitive Pet Placement (CPP) and the Intake Triage project as well as introduce the HASS Human Commonalities initiative. With a goal to mobilize the animal welfare industry toward a new, change-making system of care, each initiative will include collaborations with HASS pilot and partner organizations to address major challenges shelters are facing daily such as increasing adoptions, streamlining intake, overwhelmed staff and maximizing both municipal and public support.
For more information on these initiatives visit humananimalsupportservices.org or book time with Elkie directly here.
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About Human Animal Support Services (HASS):
The Human Animal Support Services (HASS) project is a movement seeking to revolutionize the animal welfare industry by leading with and embracing a community support model. By providing both private and municipal animal shelters with equitable access to data-driven resources, education, and implementation tools, HASS aims to create pathways toward unified support systems for pets and their people in every community. HASS encompasses a network of more than 1,500 animal and human welfare professionals. A project facilitated by Austin Pets Alive! (APA!), HASS’s 41 pilot shelters and 300+ partner organizations have joined the movement by committing to implement the HASS model. To learn more, visit www.humananimalsupportservices.org.
