OUR MISSION
To address organizational and personal biases within Animal Welfare. To bring diverse voices to Animal Welfare while also advocating for a more inclusive path to pet adoption. To use evidence-based tools, narratives and insights to inspire organizations to be more inclusive and less biased. All in an effort to save more companion animal lives.
CARE DIVISIONS
We’re building focused and strategic bridges toward diversity, equity and inclusion. Each division is managed separately but all work together toward one end—bringing diverse voices to the Animal Welfare industry while also advocating for a more inclusive path to pet adoption.
RESEARCH DIVISION SCOPE
- Collect data on current biases
- Design Science-Based curricula to reduce biases
- Produce White Papers
- Recruit Executives of Color for AWO
Partners: Harvard’s Project Implicit
Dr. William Cox, University of Wisconsin-Madison
NARRATIVE DIVISION SCOPE
- Record and present positive adoption stories from diverse audiences
- Develop, Produce, and Distribute narratives that focus on diverse audiences and the bond they share with their pets
Partners: Benam Films | Achilles Pr
EDUCATION DIVISION SCOPE
- Individualized training for Animal Welfare organizations seeking to reduce internal biases
- Distribute toolkits on reducing internal biases
- Advocate for the reduction of bias industry wide
ABOUT CARE
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the core of who we are and what we do. We believe in the inherent goodness and dignity of all people. When Animal Welfare organizations make diversity, equity and inclusion central to their life-saving missions, they are more representative of the clients they serve, they grow market share and the bottom line, they lift up marginalized communities, and they leverage the talent pool of different individuals, generating better ideas for solving complex problems.
CARE believes this effort is the defining challenge for the Animal Welfare field, one that currently limits the potential to save more lives, increase support, improve decision-making, and enrich communities of color.
Creating equitable experiences requires a multidisciplinary approach focused on addressing unconscious and hidden biases—one that responds to stakeholders at every level while supplying the necessary information, tools, and supports to ensure that each is poised to enact change. In an effort to promote equity in pet adoption and animal wellbeing, we partner with organizations on their journey to becoming more inclusive by providing access to
• evidence-based training and tools,
• research and data,
• stories and insights, and
• a diverse talent pool.
CARE focuses specifically on the role that research, training, and narratives can play in elevating marginalized voices, shifting mindsets, and cultivating inclusive and equitable cultures.
The founders of CARE have been at the service of Animal Welfare and People & Pets for nearly two decades. We have worked closely with a variety of major organizations to save lives and enhance the bond between people and their pets. Our CEO, James Evans, has been the architect of several groundbreaking programs and campaigns that have reshaped animal welfare and have redefined the conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion in animal welfare organizations (AWO).
These programs and campaigns include: the HSUS Gulf Spay Neuter Campaign, HSUS Pets for Life, HSUS Adopters Welcome, HSUS Pets are Welcome, HSUS Anti-Puppy Mills Campaign (including national research), HSUS Free Roaming Cats (including national research), HSUS Spayathon Puerto Rico, Let’s Fix This (dog bite prevention), Petstablished (microchip registration), AlignCare (increasing access to veterinary care), Maddie’s Fund and HSUS Anti-Bias program “Who is a Good Person?” and Best Friends Animal Society Action Team/Community Outreach Program.
We believe, after the lessons we’ve learned as experts in the field, and as a vendor of color, that leading the Animal Welfare industry toward more inclusionary practices and policies will give rise to and usher in a new wave of lifesaving and relationship building.
CARE aims to build on our ongoing work to break bias in the adoption process and in the animal welfare movement more broadly by scientifically identifying biases and stereotypes specific to the animal welfare movement that have been limiting our ability to help animals and our ability to be more diverse and inclusive. CARE is also committed to building a comprehensive, evidence-based curriculum and multimedia strategy to expose and mitigate these biases and measure the success and impact of these interventions.
