The Mississippi Spay and Neuter Initiative presents:
Paws for Progress: Expanding Spay/Neuter Access and Saving Lives
Saturday, October 10th
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Virtual Conference via Zoom
The Mississippi Spay and Neuter Initiative is a non-profit whose mission is to promote, educate and provide resources for individuals seeking out spay and neuter for their pets or their community. We believe that uniting our state to work together is the only way that true change will come about. Our target attendees for the conference are existing spay and neuter clinics, rescues, shelters and animal control facilities with or without spay and neuter programs, and individuals who live in areas with no low cost spay/neuter options. The conference has several informative speakers and a strategic breakout session. Capacity is capped at 100 participants and the registration fee is $5.
The purpose of this workshop is to:
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Contribute to the knowledge and skills of professionals in a purposeful way
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Equip professionals with innovative program ideas
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Identify obstacles to broader access and problem solve constraints
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Provide an atmosphere for networking
Presentations:
Cole Wakefield, MS, CAWA
Executive Director
Good Shepherd Humane Society
"Are YOU the Crisis?"
This session moves beyond blame to empower leaders and staff to critically analyze their own operations first by looking inward at the obstacles we often place in our own way. Cole will use the principles of Systems Thinking to identify leverage points within our organizations to improve services and outcomes. From rescue to sheltering to spay and neuter, changes in thinking and process can help small, rural organizations deliver big results.
About the speaker:
Cole Wakefield is an animal welfare leader, writer, and consultant specializing in rural sheltering dynamics, capacity building, and proactive community solutions. He serves as the Executive Director of the Good Shepherd Humane Society in the Arkansas Ozarks and has served on national advisory panels focusing on rural animal welfare challenges.
Wakefield holds a degree from Western Governors University, completed the Executive Leadership Certification program through Southern Utah University and Best Friends Animal Society, and is an active member of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement. His work emphasizes shifting away from relying solely on sheltering or out-of-state transport, focusing instead on long-term systemic solutions—such as reducing length of stay (LOS), maximizing limited staffing, and expanding community access to care.
Terri Doumit
President, Board of Directors
Operation Colony Cats
“TNR and the Slippery Slope”
TNR isn't just a word. It's an action. It's prevention. It's the only way to reduce the number of cats entering shelters today. Let's learn what TNR is, how to build a successful program, and what it takes to reduce shelter intakes through a humane approach. Join me as we brainstorm ways to not only prevent suffering but change the way humans view cats and their place in the world.
About the speaker:
Terri Doumit brings over a decade of dedicated animal welfare experience and 25 years in education, she has spent the past eight years helping lead and grow Operation Colony Cats. As a key leader of this grassroots initiative, she oversees efforts to humanely reduce feline overpopulation through high-impact spay/neuter programs, rescue, fostering, and transport operations.
In addition to her grassroots leadership, she serves as the CVM Surgery Scheduler and Transport Coordinator for the Oktibbeha County Humane Society, managing surgical logistics, veterinary care coordination, volunteer networks, and transport schedules to ensure animals receive vital care and placement opportunities.
Michelle Anderson
Executive Director
Oktibbeha County Humane Society
“Securing Municipal Dollars: Winning City Funding for Spay & Neuter Initiatives”
Securing dedicated tax dollars for animal overpopulation control is often seen as an uphill battle, but municipal funding is one of the most sustainable levers for long-term shelter reduction. In this session, Michele Anderson shares how the Oktibbeha County Humane Society successfully partnered with the City of Starkville to secure municipal financial backing for targeted spay and neuter programming. Attendees will learn actionable strategies for navigating local government structures, framing community animal welfare as a public infrastructure necessity, and building the political buy-in needed to get spay and neuter line items passed in city budgets.
About the speaker:
Michele Anderson serves as the Executive Director and a member of the Board of Directors for the Oktibbeha County Humane Society (OCHS) in Starkville, Mississippi, having been actively involved in animal welfare leadership since joining the board in 2008. Over her 15-plus years with OCHS, she co-founded and expanded the shelter's regional transport hub that has successfully relocated tens of thousands of homeless pets to high-demand regions. Under her leadership, OCHS established its low-cost Spay & Neuter Clinic to directly combat pet overpopulation and spearheaded major facility expansions. She regularly advocates at both the regional and national levels to advance shelter medicine, transport logistics, and community access to pet care.
Angela Burks Hill
Mississippi State Senator District 40
“Legislative Perspectives on Mississippi Animal Welfare”
Special recorded Address
About the speaker:
Angela Burks Hill serves as a member of the Mississippi State Senate representing District 40 since 2012. Her district encompasses portions of Marion and Pearl River counties in southern Mississippi.
Throughout her tenure in the Senate, Hill has chaired the Senate Constitution Committee and served as Vice-Chair of the Drug Policy Committee. Her committee assignments have also included Agriculture, Appropriations, Education, Judiciary (Division B), Municipalities, and Public Health and Welfare.
Her legislative focus centers on conservative governance, government transparency, regulatory reform, education, and animal welfare protection laws.
Getting to Zero in Mississippi: Statewide Strategies for Ending Pet Overpopulation
Format: Interactive Presentation & Panel Discussion
Achieving zero shelter euthanasia for adoptable pets requires shifting from reactive rescue to systematic, preventive solutions. Grounded in the frameworks of Peter Marsh’s Getting to Zero: A Roadmap to Ending Animal Shelter Overpopulation in the United States, this session outlines a data-driven strategy tailored to Mississippi’s unique rural and urban challenges. Participants will explore how targeted spay and neuter access, targeted resource allocation, and cross-organizational collaboration serve as the foundation for reducing shelter intake state-wide.
A central focus of the session will be actionable partnership models with the Mississippi Spay and Neuter Initiative (MSSNI), demonstrating how regional shelters, rescue groups, and advocates can leverage partnerships to reduce overpopulation at its root source.