In this conversation, Laura Baker, Executive Director of Nashville Humane Association, shares her journey into animal welfare, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, community engagement and inclusivity. She discusses the shift in focus toward keeping animals in homes, the challenges of fundraising and the significance of creating a sensory-inclusive environment.
With over 15 years of experience in animal welfare, Laura offers valuable insights on what it takes to create lasting impact in the field. She shares:
- Why collaboration over competition strengthens the entire animal welfare community.
- How Nashville Humane is focused on keeping animals in homes, not just in shelters.
- The importance of community resources in driving long-term success.
- How inclusivity shapes the future of animal welfare facilities.
- The leadership traits that make a difference—flexibility, adaptability, and strong listening skills.
Show chapters
- 00:00 Introduction to Laura Baker and Her Journey
- 03:04 Evolution of Animal Welfare in Nashville
- 05:47 Community-Centric Approaches to Animal Welfare
- 08:56 Creating Inclusive Environments for All
- 11:58 Day-to-Day Leadership in Animal Welfare
- 14:56 Navigating Challenges as a Female Leader
- 17:52 The Importance of Listening and Taking Risks
- 21:01 Innovative Fundraising Strategies
- 24:00 Final Thoughts and Advice for Animal Welfare Professionals
Meet our guest
Transcript
Kate McKinley
Hello and welcome to another episode of RKD Group: Chat. I recently sat down with Laura Baker, the Executive Director at Nashville Humane Association. Laura has worked in the animal welfare world for more than 15 years, starting her journey as a volunteer and working in government sheltering before beginning her tenure at Nashville Humane. Laura is an animal lover, mother of two, and someone who is passionate about leading community change. And you can hear that passion in how she talks about the work that she does.
Laura has seen the animal welfare world evolve through the years. And in our conversation, she shares how Nashville Humane has pivoted alongside it through initiatives like reunification stations, their KultureCity Certification and so much more. Before we dive into all of that, let's hear a little bit more about Laura's career journey.
Laura Baker
As I meet peers in this industry, we all joke that we like tripped and fell into this career. But I have a degree in biology from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. When I was growing up in Ohio, I just thought I wanted to be a veterinarian and a ballerina, but once I got into college, I was volunteering at my local shelter, Franklin Dog Shelter.
And shout out to Franklin Dog Shelter. I volunteered, and I realized there was nobody my age involved. And I realized it could be a career. So I quickly switched gears in college, got my degree, and I immediately just wanted to work at a shelter. And I started as a kennel tech in Florida, taking care of 10,000 animals with no air-conditioning. So that was like boot camp from the start.
But I really cut my teeth in 2008, 2009, In Florida, the housing market burst. And I just got a taste for animal welfare. So I've been able to kind of move through animal welfare since then. I took a job with Williamson County Animal Center in Tennessee.
You just heard me talk about Florida. Now I'm talking about Tennessee. I, between those times, I got pregnant and had a child. And unfortunately, when he was born, there were some complications, and he, when he turned three, he ended up being diagnosed with autism, but we didn't know that at the time; we just wanted to provide him care. So come into Nashville, there's a kid's Vanderbilt, which is wonderful. And so, we moved here in about 2013. I became the director at Williamson County, which is a government animal center.
And after six years, a position became available at Nashville Humane, and Nashville Humane is a nonprofit, and I had never worked for a nonprofit. So I made the leap in 2017 to Nashville Humane, and I'm now here, and I never want to go back to animal control government. And I'm very thankful for being in an animal-loving community like Nashville.
Kate McKinley
As someone who worked first as a volunteer, then in government sheltering, and now as the executive director of Nashville Humane, Laura has seen animal welfare from multiple different perspectives. As she shares in the next piece of our conversation, there has been a steady through line in each of her roles.
Laura Baker
I think there's a through line in each place I work, each state, each agency, that it's collaboration over competition. We are all working for the greater good of the animals, so combining resources, looking where we're duplicating efforts, I think, was something that I took from each place that I worked. That it was a team lift; that animal welfare is a community problem and solution.
And so, I'm just very grateful for all the things I was exposed to, from animal cruelty cases to seeing people spoil their animals to the nth degree. And so, I'm celebrating my 15th year in the industry …16th year. And so, I'm just very grateful that I've been able to work this long in this industry.
Kate McKinley
As our conversation continued, we spent some time discussing how Laura has seen the animal welfare industry shift through the years, especially in its effort to keep animals in homes by providing different resources to the surrounding communities.
Laura Baker
So, we're in a unique position because we're in Nashville. So, on top of it being animal loving, people are moving here in droves. We are one of the cities, which is great. But studies are showing that that's about 50 animals a day moving here. And so, the building we're currently in was built in 2003. We’re here now in 2025. And so, we're having to use that building 22 years later for a population that has grown significantly.
And so, we've also had to shift our resources to focus on not just adoption, and housing animals and making sure you can own or surrender your animal anytime; we’ve had to shift our mindsets and be like, how can we provide resources to keep animals out of the shelter? We don't want your animal. If you love your animals, do you need training? Do you need resources? Really, it was shifting because so much focus was put on a save rate, of being “no kill.” And I saw that wave happening. You know, we are part of that wave. You know, we have a 99% save rate, but there's other measures of success of a shelter. And I think part of that is the programs that they have that are outward facing, not necessarily just their save rate, but also what programs you have in your community that are supporting not only pet owners but your peer shelters.
We are surrounded by rural counties that have no animal control. There's one not far from here that they still back up a truck into a box to euthanize animals ― a vehicle. And so, we feel very privileged to be in Nashville. And so, to be able to reach out beyond the boundaries of our county lines; to reach out and try to help those that maybe aren't as fortunate as us. And so, that bleeds into our agency; helping Cheatham County or Montgomery County will eventually help the animals in our neighborhood. And so, there's a ripple effect. And I think the more we focus on outside of the kennel walls, the more we'll see the benefits inside the shelter.
Kate McKinley
Laura shared that they've also seen the shift impact how they fundraise.
Laura Baker
Yeah, that's a great kind of twist in my experience because it was always focusing on like, you know, the Sarah McLaughlin, save this animal, so sad, focus on the animal, because we do deal with that. But then there's the shift to truly tell folks what's going on in our community. They can't help unless they know. So, shifting their perspective, and that was hard for folks working in the shelter.
You know, for so long, we're like, we'll take your animal. You know, we always have room. We'll never say no. And so, we had to change our mindset as staff to be like, let's give these folks a chance. Let's give that … let's approach this differently. It's not working how it is now. And so, messaging that to folks that come in, not only that adopt, but our supporters: Hey, your donations go toward X, Y, and Z. For example, in 2024, and ever since I've been at NHA, we've reported our amount of animals that we've adopted. Again, save rate's important, 99%. We adopted about 3,500 dogs and cats. But we've had so many other programs, like our food bank, our temporary crisis fostering, our monthly vaccination clinics, that impact animals in our community, and we weren't capturing those stats. So now we're starting to elevate our care, understand how many we're catching, and that's about 22,000 animals a year.
And so, I think it's important to know, get a temperature of, your community that you're serving and know what those needs are because they change, you know, on a dime. Nashville has had disasters. And so, just being flexible and always communicating to your donors what your need is, because for so long we were saying the need is this animal, the need is this animal. That's one program, one pillar program of our agency, you know? There's so much more to the narratives and stories of the impacts that we have.
And so, just being true in that narrative without shaming those that are coming to us for help, you know? We also don't want to be like, shoving cameras in people's faces and being like, tell us your sob story. It's more of, how can you all lift yourselves up together? Because, again, we're all here for the animals, and we've all had difficult times. So we don't want folks to be afraid of coming to the shelter. We don't want them to be afraid to call the shelter. We simply just want to be a resource. And I think that's very important to share with not only those that you serve, but your donors.
Kate McKinley
Nashville Humane Association serves their community in a number of ways, including making their facilities more inclusive. You heard Laura share earlier that her son was diagnosed with autism at age three, and the organization's work to achieve KultureCity’s Sensory Inclusion Certification was an effort that touched both her personal and professional lives.
Laura Baker
I mentioned that I gave birth to a wonderful baby boy in Florida; his name's Bronson. We moved to Nashville for Vanderbilt Children's Hospital because he was just suffering with something that seemed to be viral. He ended up being diagnosed with autism at the age of three. So he's very much been around the shelter environment. Since I've been working here, I take him to work with me occasionally. And seeing his reaction at the shelter … we have eight animals here ― we have five dogs at home and three cats ― and the therapy that they bring him and the joy that they bring him, it's magical. But when he would come visit me at work, it was overstimulation: sensory overload, smells, sound, you know, even for typical folks like myself. I can get overwhelmed. It smells like dog poop. It sounds like dogs barking. You, no matter how hard we try, there's still going to be an element of this overwhelming sensory.
So we learned about KultureCity, and what they do is they train staff of businesses ― it doesn't have to be an animal shelter ― to deal with different walks of life, different abilities, folks that may get overwhelmed via sensories. They give you toolkits and training to be able to provide audiences with that support.
So, for example, Nashville Humane has a quiet room. We have, my gosh, noise-canceling headphones. We have a weighted lap blanket. We have fidget toys. So what that means is our staff has been trained. We have supplies and tools to be able to support maybe those that get overstimulated. We're also in the KultureCity app. So if you're like me, we plan where we take Bronson just to set everybody up for success. If you have somebody that might get overwhelmed, might have PTSD, you know, some of our veterans, loud noises scare them. You can check out KultureCity's app, and it can show you all of the businesses that are certified. Titan Stadium is certified; Predators are certified. And all you have to do is simply walk up to a staff member and say, hey, can I utilize the KultureCity tools? We will provide everything you need and just make sure that we are opening up that adaptability to an audience that deserves it.
This is so mutually beneficial because, A, we're creating a sensory-inclusive environment for the animals and for the humans. We're increasing adoption opportunities. We're inviting the audience that may not otherwise come in, and we're promoting community engagement. So it's really a win-win for everybody. And we were the first shelter, not only in the state of Tennessee, but in Southeast United States to be certified. So I'm very proud of that fact.
And as Nashville becomes more diversified, we want to meet the needs of the community. And that means all races, all genders, all sexes, all religions, all abilities. And so KultureCity helps us meet that need.
Kate McKinley
Shifting our conversation a little, Laura and I spent some time talking more in depth about her role as executive director. I asked her to share a peek into her day to day as a leader at Nashville Humane.
Laura Baker
It depends. I always joke that working at an animal welfare is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. You know, you will plan your day out. You'll try to be strategic. You'll have high-level thinking, but sometimes you get drug into the operational needs. So, for example, today, we'll use today. I'm working from home. I work one day from home, and that helps me focus on higher-level admin tasks because if I don't, when I work in the shelter, I will get pulled away for other tasks.
So this morning I actually went to the Capitol, State Capitol, to testify for House Bill 76, which essentially makes it illegal for folks to abandon their animal at a vet clinic or an animal shelter in the state of Tennessee. So that's one thing that I did. I don't do that every day, but I do do it a couple of times a year, usually when they're in session, depending on what's going on in the state.
Other times I'll have meetings with staff where we’ll go over development techniques Last week, or maybe 10 days from now, or 10 days ago, we had Unleashed, which is one of our four signature events of the year. It is a heavy lift. We typically raise about a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and this year was no different. We raised about that same amount, but we did have maximum participation. We sold out at 400, and the max that we've had in the past was 300. You know, sometimes it's working events.
Other times, it's winter weather, and folks can't make it in, and me and a team of folks are staying at the shelter, and we're cleaning out kennels. That's one of the reasons ― you asked me why I, you know, I stay in this industry. That's one of the reasons why: because I don't ever get bored. Yes, it's challenging. Yes, it's all consuming. Everybody knows you work at the shelter, and so everybody will reach out to you for any advice or if they find a stray. But just the fact that there's variation, and that I have to be flexible, and my team has to be flexible ― in seeing people band together when stuff happens. The chaos is where the magic is. And so, animal welfare has a lot of that chaos, but then a lot of magic can come out of it.
Kate McKinley
Laura also recognizes that, as a leader, it's her role to be an example to her team when it comes to work-life balance, and she shared her perspective on managing burnout.
Laura Baker
I try to be an example for my team. For so long, I ran on being available 24/7, and I missed my kids growing up. There's times where I was focused on my phone or an email, and my daughter took her first walk. So, just seeing that I never get that time back, and I want to be that example to my staff because other people have families; other people have personal needs. And so, I no longer send emails at 10 o'clock at night.
So, putting up boundaries that are healthy for me, I think, not just because of me but like, to see the benefits it has on the staff. Because when I was running at that pace, they were too, and that's not fair to them because they felt that that was the expectation, and it, and it was because that's the example I was setting. So I would say in the past six months, I've kind of taken note of that.
My kids are now older. They're 11 and 12. My daughter's in the Wizard of Oz play. Both kids are very active. And so, just making sure that I'm putting myself as a priority because I am no good to anybody if I'm burned out. And I've seen that. And my husband makes me aware of that when it happens. It's good to have a support system that can say, take a day off. Or, hey, why don't you take a bath?
So, again, I think the team I work with is like that, too. If we see any signs in each other, we will hold each other accountable and be like, you know, why don't you just leave at three today, and turn your phone off, and we will handle everything else. So I think just being very self-aware, and holding yourself to that standard and setting that example, is important.
Kate McKinley
Like any leader in the nonprofit world, Laura navigates challenges in her day-to-day role. Here are just a few that she shared in hopes that others could relate.
Laura Baker
Yeah, I think being an agency in the South while also being an agency in a very urban, progressive city is a very unique challenge for us. Our audience is very varying. We have blues; we have reds; we have young; we have old. So just trying to remain inclusive, you know? Animals aren't political, but some of those, some of those themes in politics can bleed onto animals. But understanding that, at the core, we're here together.
I think Nashville just poses a really unique challenge, and being a female leader, especially in animal control ― not so much at Nashville, I mean, but like, being in animal control ― no one in facility maintenance or anywhere else would talk to me directly. They would talk to my next in line. That was a man.
And that was, honestly, one of the reasons why I wanted to leave, just because there was that boundary that was put up, that ceiling automatically just from talking to somebody. I think Nashville poses that challenge, but there's so many people that are up for the challenge. And on the other end of the spectrum, there's folks that are so loving and so supportive. Really, I get amazed every year because the world's on fire, you know? The world's literally on fire, but I'm pleasantly surprised constantly by our supporters. You know, they give me hope. That's so selfish, you know, they give me hope, but they do. During COVID, it was one of our best years ever since then. It's only going up, even though the challenges are getting more difficult, and that in itself is actually, it's a positive because our community steps up at every turn.
Kate McKinley
One of the tools that Laura believes has helped her become a better leader is improving her listening skills. Here's what she had to say about what she considers one of her biggest areas of improvement.
Laura Baker
Listening skills, which is probably my biggest area of improvement. I tend to finish someone's sentences. I jump ahead to try to know what they're … to anticipate what they're going to say, anticipate the problem. And I make it worse sometimes when I could just listen and address what that person is saying. So I think listening is something that's always a challenge, and something I'm working on, and a skill that I think any type of leader, or actually, anybody in a relationship, needs.
I also think an element of taking a risk, I mentioned that earlier when we were talking, but I think pushing the boundaries and weighing the pros and cons thoughtfully but being willing to take a risk is also important. That's not really a skill but more of a feeling, but for an action. But I think listening, taking a risk, being organized.
My goodness, I use Asana; I use Slack. You sometimes … it can get overwhelming the amount of things that we use to organize, but ― and I am naturally not a very organized person, and in my personal life I'm not ― but it's the only way I survive: making lists, checklists, project lists, accountability.
You know, we have two separate buildings now. And so, there's a little bit of disconnection with the team. So having any type of way we can communicate and stay in constant communication is important. I think the ability to communicate, I mentioned listening, but also being able to regulate your emotions and to professionally communicate how you feel. ‘Cause I think a lot of times, as leaders, we don't regulate how we feel. We spout off, or we hold ourselves to a different standard than others. And I think it's important that we recognize we're human but be mindful of the tone that we set for our team and how we be aids.
Kate McKinley
In that previous clip, Laura briefly touched on being willing to take risks as a leader. I wanted her to expand on this a little bit for those listening who may be in similar shoes, trying to balance when to take risks in their own organization.
Laura Baker
There's two things that popped into my head, two things that we did recently that were risky and kind of our approach. The first thing was, we launched the first reunification station in Nashville, which is a microchip thing station where you microchip, but where you can scan it to see if you can locate the owners. That doesn't sound very risky, but there is inherent risk in the location people could put animals in there. There's just other things that we would be taking responsibility and liability for. How we kind of worked around that was looking at other agencies that have already done that. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Is it working out in other cities? Is it not working out? And again, weighing those pros and cons and being able to have a thoughtful discussion as a team and as a board of, are we going to try this? How much are we willing to invest? And then see how it goes, and then revisit it.
So we launched that in October. We've had zero issues with it, and there's an average of six animals that are being scanned a week via that. So I think planning ahead, revisiting it to see if it's working, is important.
The other area that we took a risk was with RKD. We have never done text-to-give ever. It's something we thought like, we wanted … I've seen HSUS do it and ASPCA, but I thought, you know, that's for bigger agencies. It's not for us. But working with RKD, y'all are the experts, you know? RKD are the experts. And so, we mentioned to them, we are considering doing this. Can you tell us if we're in the market, you know, for it? Is this working at other agencies? And they were able to tell us, here's what it would look like. Here's the investment.
We aligned it with GivingTuesday last year. One day of giving; we launched it for one day. Our investment was minimal, and we made $20,000. We had never done that before with RKD. There was a cost associated with that. There's also risk ― you know, you hear a lot about people getting the automated text messages, being upset about it ― but it paid off. Not every risk pays off like that, but clearly that one paid off, and it informed how we approach 2025, and we now have implemented other text-to-give campaigns throughout the year. So also monitoring how well those do, and adjusting our plan for next year, and leaning on RKD as experts to tell us what they're seeing in the field and other agencies, and then kind of seeing what works― piloting, as people say ― and then revisiting how it's working and adjusting.
Kate McKinley
It was such a pleasure getting to know and chat with Laura, and I'm so thankful for her perspective on the animal welfare industry, as well as navigating leadership in the nonprofit space. As we closed out our time together, I asked Laura to leave us with one piece of advice for those in the animal welfare world who might be tuning into this episode.
Laura Baker
Know that you're not alone. We are in a world where, yes, we're all connected by social media, but sometimes we feel like our challenges are our own. Our communities are all very unique, but we have common challenges and solutions. And so I think what I want to say to my peers is that you're not alone. You always have somebody that can help you. Our ASPCA, RKD, there's a wealth of folks that will help you, I've learned, and that's helped calm me, to know that I can turn to folks. So, just know that you're not alone.
Group: Chat is a production of RKD Group. For more information, including how you can partner with RKD to accelerate growth for your fundraising and nonprofit marketing needs, visit rkdgroup.com.
Leave a comment: