FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Nov. 20, 2025
UF and Maddie's Fund Bring Hands-On Change to Animal Shelters
The new Consulting Cooperative helps shelters turn consultation insights into real-world impact.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Animal shelters across the country are striving to improve animal care, strengthen operations, and build sustainable systems. For many, however, knowing what to do isn't the hard part. It's finding the hands-on support to make change happen.
That's the challenge the Maddie's® Million Pet Challenge Consulting Cooperative (Consulting Cooperative) is designed to solve.
Made possible by generous support from Maddie's Fund®, this new initiative pairs the University of Florida's Shelter Medicine team with expert consultants from across the field to provide customized, on-site support for shelters implementing transformative improvements.
While traditional consultations give shelters a roadmap for progress, the Consulting Cooperative delivers the tools, training, and direct assistance to bring those plans to life.
"Many shelters come out of consultations with a renewed sense of purpose and a clear plan for change," said Dr. Julie Levy, co-founder of the Maddie's® Million Pet Challenge and the University of Florida's Shelter Medicine Program. "But change can stall without on-the-ground help. The Consulting Cooperative bridges that gap, turning knowledge into action and vision into measurable progress."
A Modular Approach to Lifesaving Support
Each of the Consulting Cooperative's specialized consulting teams focuses on a different area of need, allowing shelters to receive support tailored to their unique challenges:
- be. Spay-Neuter Consulting – Led by Elsa Kohlbus and Dr. Mike Greenberg, this team helps organizations expand surgical access and efficiency while fostering compassionate, sustainable clinic cultures.
- National Kitten College – Founded by Marnie Russ, this module builds neonatal care and foster programs that save more kittens through high-quality, high-volume (HQHV) systems and staff training.
- M&M Veterinary and Shelter Strategies – Led by Meredith Hippert and Dr. Maria Serrano, this team focuses on strengthening shelter operations, veterinary care, and staff development to promote long-term stability and live outcomes.
The Consulting Cooperative also enhances the Shelter Consultation Mentorship Module, which provides mentorship and travel stipends for qualified professionals to gain hands-on consulting experience alongside the UF Shelter Medicine team, helping to build a more diverse and capable field of future shelter consultants.
A Shared Vision for Sustainable Change
The Consulting Cooperative's "boots-on-the-ground" model represents the next step in the Maddie's® Million Pet Challenge's mission to create more efficient, compassionate sheltering systems.
Maddie's Fund is a national family foundation established by Dave and Cheryl Duffield to revolutionize the status and well-being of companion animals. Their support continues to inspire programs that drive meaningful change in animal well-being, from strategic consulting to community-based care.
"Every shelter deserves access to expert, empathetic guidance," said Mary Ippoliti-Smith, Maddie's Fund Executive Leadership Team. "With this partnership, we're ensuring that new processes and great ideas go beyond the consultation report, resulting in strategic outcomes."
About the University of Florida Shelter Medicine Program
The University of Florida Shelter Medicine Program prepares veterinary students, practitioners, and shelter teams to prevent and heal the physical and emotional wounds of sheltered animals while strengthening community safety nets for pets and families in need. Through education, advanced training, research, and hands-on outreach, the program equips a new generation of shelter veterinarians and animal welfare professionals with the expertise to improve the health, welfare, and outcomes of animals everywhere. The program has a global reach through its online graduate program in Shelter Medicine.
About Maddie's Fund
Established in 1994 by Dave and Cheryl Duffield, Maddie's Fund® is a family foundation and fulfillment of a promise to their dog, Maddie. She provided them joy for over ten years and continues to inspire us today.
Due to their generosity and vision, the Foundation has awarded over $301.3 million in grants toward increased community collaborations and live outcomes, pioneering shelter medicine education, establishing foster care as a standard across the U.S. and driving innovation in access to care. Maddie's Fund proudly offers the industry a national voice, important funding opportunities for bold ideas, learning resources and access to collaborate and share innovative solutions.
The Foundation invests its resources in keeping with Dave & Cheryl's promise, that pets and their people would enjoy the same experience they had with Maddie. We are committed to keeping pets and people together, creating a safety net of care for animals in need and operating within a culture of inclusiveness and humility. #ThanksToMaddie.
Maddie's Fund is part of The Duffield Foundation Family, which also includes Liberty Dogs and Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation.
Media Inquiries:
Christie Keith
chkeith@ufl.edu
415-205-4461
#EducationandTraining------------------------------
Christie Keith
Davisburg, Michigan
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