The Mississippi Spay and Neuter Initiative presents:
Paws for Change: Spay/Neuter & Beyond
July 25th, 2025
Jackie D. Sherrill Community Center
220 W Front St
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
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 the 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 registration fee is $15 which includes lunch. Check is 8am-9am and presentations 9am-5pm.
Speaker Line up:
Karen Slomba
“Spay/Neuter Party Planner” or CEO, Slomba Shelter Solutions
Tricks and Tips from the Ultimate Spay/Neuter Party Planner
In this session, Karen Slomba, known nation-wide as the ultimate Spay/Neuter Party Planner, will share how her company has created opportunities for spay/neuter services in animal shelters and communities across the country. The evolution of one tiny team of spay/neuter professionals wanting to help a few animal shelters on the west coast of Florida to an explosion of over 200 team-members providing services across the country is a mind-boggling tale. But woven into this entertaining, yet inspiring story of spay/neuter success, are the lessons she has learned along the way. How can a community with no access to affordable spay/neuter clinics get creative and find ways to provide services in partnership with their local fire-station or community center? Where can they find the funding for these efforts? How do you lure veterinarians into unknown territory? The answer is with party snacks… and other tricks that Karen will share during her fun yet informative presentation.
Heidi Fulcher
Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, Greater Good Charities
Grant Writing for Impact: Securing Funding with Purposeful Proposals
This session explores how to craft grant proposals that resonate with funders, align with strategic priorities, and secure meaningful support. Key elements of effective proposals, storytelling techniques, and practical strategies for success will be covered, with an emphasis on driving measurable impact.
Reilly Fitzpatrick
Research Project Manager, Kansas University Center for Community Health and Development
Implementing a Social-Marketing Effort
Social marketing is a powerful tool for changing behaviors that benefit society. This session will outline key steps for designing an effective social marketing campaign—from defining the behavior you want to change to engaging your audience, reducing barriers, and crafting messages that resonate. Through examples and dialogue, participants will explore how to build campaigns that highlight existing support and help shift norms around spay and neuter across the state.
Beverly Smallwood, Ph.D.
Psychologist, Founder of The Hope Center
Compassion Fatigue: Taking Care of YOU So That You Don’t Burn Out
Compassion Fatigue is real. Often, the passion and compassion to help the animals overrides the perceived necessity of taking care of oneself. In this interactive program, participants will:
-
identify the mental habits that make people more prone to compassion fatigue;
-
learn the signs of burnout and how to bring themselves back;
-
develop coping skills involving both mind and body so that they can become more resilient and last in this calling.
Amy Batiste
Major Gift Officer, College of Arts & Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi
Fundraising – session description to be updated