Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative Webinar

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Millions of households have surrendered companion animals to shelters due to a lack of available pet-inclusive rental housing (Michelson). The Michelson Center for Public Policy recently presented a bill to remove barriers for low-income families and homeless pet owners to access fair housing.

Please join Vince Wong as he discusses the results of their comprehensive study on pet inclusive housing and Kelsey Gilmore-Futeral, Esq. will share Florida's proposed legislation and tips for how we can help support the legislation and pet inclusive housing in Florida.

Click here to register for the webinar.

Meet our speakers:

Kelsey Gilmore-Futeral, Esq.: Legislative Attorney -- Best Friends Animal Society

Kelsey grew up in South Dakota where she developed her passion for animal welfare. She moved to Charleston, SC to compete on the equestrian team at the College of Charleston and stayed in the Holy City for law school, where she co-founded the Charleston School of Law's Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter and graduated magna cum laude. Kelsey served as the chair of the SC Bar's Animal Law Committee from 2015 - 2018 and has served as an officer on the board of directors for Alliance of Therapy Dogs, the nation's premier dog therapy registry, since 2010. The former SC State Director for the Humane Society of the US, Kelsey is now a legislative attorney with Best Friends Animal Society, managing legislative and policy priorities in 19 states with the overarching goal of ending the killing of healthy and treatable animals in America's shelters by 2025. She lives just outside Charleston, SC with her husband, four rescue dogs, and horse.

Vince Wong: Director of Government Relations -- Michelson Center for Public Policy

Vince Wong serves as Director of Government Relations for the Michelson Center for Public Policy and is the primary liaison to elected officials, government agencies, and civic organizations. He launched two of Michelson Found Animals’ most impactful programs – the Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative, created to field research that demonstrates the benefits of pet-friendly housing to owner/operators, residents and communities; and the Better Neighbor Project, creating partnerships with human services organizations to develop collaborative programs that support underserved communities and their pets.