October 2018 by Susanne Kogut, President and Executive Director, PetCo Foundation

Audience: Executive Leadership, Foster Caregivers, Public, Shelter/Rescue Staff & Volunteers, Veterinary Team

Video Length: 56:35

Leadership - We are doing something important here! In animal welfare, we are pulled in so many directions and asked to do so much. Knowing what to focus on and how to move forward can prove difficult for anyone, even Santa! But like our friend, Santa Claus, when we focus on the mission, trying out new ideas and courageously moving forward, the process becomes much easier.

In order to create a lifesaving community, our leadership needs to create a workshop of possibilities...the who is you, the how is together, the what is a positive attitude and the when is now. This presentation was given at the Maddie's® Pet Project "Saving Nevada's Pets" conference and made possible by the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation and supported by Maddie's Fund®.

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About Susanne Kogut

Prior to joining Petco, Susanne was the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA Executive Director, where she transformed the open-admission SPCA into an award-winning, model organization recognized nationally for its lifesaving efforts.

Before embarking on her animal welfare career, Susanne held several positions at Capital One Financial Corporation, including associate general counsel, director of corporate finance and director of community reinvestment. Prior to that, she was a corporate finance & securities attorney in the Washington, D.C. offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Brown & Wood.

She received her B.A. in Finance in 1986 and J.D. in 1990 from the University of Houston. Susanne shares her home her with seven dogs and a variety of different foster pets that she cares for temporarily until they move on to new homes.