Seattle Humane has been growing and evolving for more than 125 years, from addressing animal welfare in livestock at the height of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 to a regionally renowned adoption and pet resource center today. We know that to continue saving and serving pets and their people for another century, we have to keep adapting to changes in animal welfare and develop a new, more sustainable operating model.
While change can be difficult, Seattle Humane Board Member Kathy Gersch is quite literally a change expert!
“I do a lot of work in helping organizations grow and change to support ongoing growth and development of their mission,” Kathy says. “That is where I hope to spend a lot of my time.”
Kathy co-founded Kotter International. with Dr. John Kotter, an emeritus Harvard Business School professor who has written 23 books on transformation, change and building adaptable organizations. She is their Chief Growth and Commercial Officer. When it comes to adapting to changes in a business environment, whether its new strategies, technologies or mergers and acquisitions, Kotter provides the training and consulting needed to get teams on board and accelerating toward the future.
After spending 16 years serving on the board at Pacific Medical Center, Kathy had maxed out her term limits and found herself with time to focus on other passions.
“We have always been very involved in rescues ourselves,” she says. “My sister and my daughter, we’ve all been involved in pet rescues.”
Kathy grew up with dogs and currently has three at home – her oldest daughter just adopted her first.
“All of our dogs have done training at Seattle Humane, so we’ve had at least 20 years of experience with Seattle Humane,” she says, adding, “We’re really the ones getting trained, not them.”
Seattle Humane’s dog training courses are just one out of many amazing services and programs available to community members. We also have a world-class teaching hospital, offer financial assistance for pet care, temporary foster care for public pets and have run a Pet Food Bank for more than 40 years.
“I think the value that’s provided is enormous,” Kathy says. “I think a lot of people don’t even know all the offerings, the services you provide. I think people often know the adoptions side of the organization.”
Our highest adoption fee is still much lower than the average cost of care, and our Schuler Family Medical Center provides low-cost veterinary services to income-qualified individuals and families.
Donations account for 83 percent of Seattle Humane’s revenue, and Kathy and many other board members want to see the organization diversify in a way that unburdens that lift from individual donors and ensures financial sustainability for another century.
Increasing brand awareness and visibility related to Seattle Humane’s many offerings, besides just adoptions, will be very important moving forward, Kathy says, and she looks forward to working with her fellow board members to help write the next chapter for Seattle Humane.
