Name
Laurelin Sitterly

Organization
Rhode Island SPCA

Address
186 Amaral Street
Riverside, RI 02915 

Telephone
401-438-8150

Email
rispcahumane@hotmail.com

Number of Years I've Worked in Animal Welfare
2+ years

Education
BFA Illustration, RISD 2003

Hobbies/Special Area(s) of Interest
Children’s books & art; hiking, kayaking and the outdoors in general; music; wine tasting; and of course…animals!  Esp. behavior and exotic species.

I Share My Home With:
Xavier (a 2 y/o NM DSH cat with multiple genetic birth defects, including one in his neck vertebrae that makes him unable to walk unassisted), Ernie (~7 y/o 2 lb. NM Netherland dwarf house rabbit, formerly bonded to Fresca, a ~7 y/o 6 lb SF Flemish Giant/ Red Satin X house rabbit who passed away on 4-1-08), and The Muppets (Ginny and Kaylee, two ~4.5 y/o SF 5.5lb Angora sisters) the newest addition (as of 4-8-08), now bonded to Ernie.  All are, of course, adopted.

I Chose to Work in Humane Education Because:
It is a field that I feel impacts animal welfare in a very basic and important way, and is able to address most, if not all, of today’s most pressing animal welfare issues by starting at the root of the problem. The field of Humane Education is rapidly growing, and is peopled with some of the most caring, exciting and committed individuals I have ever met. Growing up I had never heard of Humane Education, either as an education style or as a career option. I stumbled across it through a series of seemingly random events shortly after graduating college, and haven’t looked back since! Humane Education reaches beyond species boundaries to improve societies as a whole, and I couldn’t imagine devoting my life and energies to a more important field.