The Association Blog

Meet one of the newest members of The Association, and get excited about the power of the network all over again

Name & Title: Elizabeth Kowal, Executive Director, Shiawassee Humane Society

Member of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement since: May 2024

The Association: Describe yourself in three words.
Elizabeth Kowal: Resilient. Determined. Compassionate.

The Association: Describe Shiawassee Humane Society in three words.
Elizabeth Kowal: Resourceful. Evolving. Community.

The Association: Welcome to one of the newest members of The Association.  What brought you to the decision to join?
Elizabeth Kowal: Networking. As I stepped into my new leadership role at the shelter, I wanted to be able to connect with other shelter leaders, big and small. We’re a small shelter with limited resources and staff, so we are always giving everything we have. This makes finding the time to attend conferences and gatherings challenging. I recognize the value of diverse perspectives and experiences, and while I’m definitely looking to carve my own path as a leader, I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel. I want to maintain and keep up to date on best practices, and the diversity of learning opportunities you offer are very exciting.

The Association: What do you hope to get out of your membership?
Elizabeth Kowal: I want to be CAWA-certified. We’re just at the beginning of our growth phase, and this certification will help me build the foundation of knowledge and skills needed to build a stronger and better shelter.

The Association: What do you think is the biggest issue facing professionals in our industry right now?
Elizabeth Kowal: Capacity crisis. Intakes are up, need for services are up. Adoptions are down, as are donations. We can’t adopt our way out of this crisis—we need free or low-cost spay/neuter services in communities across the country if we’re ever going to make an impact.

The Association: What’s one small victory you had this week – personally or professionally?
Elizabeth Kowal: I’m on a much-needed vacation right now, so I’ll say that my small victory of the week is harvesting my garlic. It’s our first time growing garlic, so it was pretty exciting to see it all come out of the ground.

The Association: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Elizabeth Kowal: Mostly spending time with my family. We have a huge garden, and I have been canning for the last few years. And when we actually get some time away from the kids, my husband and I go on paranormal investigations with friends.

The Association: What is one thing on your bucket list?
Elizabeth Kowal: Opening up a low-cost spay/neuter clinic for Shiawassee County. We’re a rural community with a huge roaming cat population. And as the only shelter in the county, we get inundated with people asking for spay/neuter services. On any given day, at least seventy-five percent of our phone calls are about that—and unfortunately right now it’s something that we cannot provide.

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