City schedules public meet‑and‑greet as dozens urge hiring a director with open‑intake, no‑kill experience

A large group of volunteers, rescue leaders and residents urged the Austin Animal Advisory Commission on Dec. 8 to insist that the next director of Austin Animal Services possess hands‑on open‑intake, no‑kill shelter experience, strong program implementation skills and the ability to rebuild trust with rescue partners and volunteers.

"Our next director should have three non‑negotiable qualifications," said Ellen Jefferson, president and CEO of Austin Pets Alive, urging a leader with proven no‑kill leadership, program development experience and stakeholder management. Multiple volunteer witnesses described what they called a pattern of operational failures, including a problematic software migration that disrupted public adoption listings, inconsistent behavior‑assessment scoring, and alleged retaliation against volunteers who spoke publicly.

Assistant City Manager Susana Carbajal and recruiter Rodney Crane (MGT) presented an update to the commission on the director search. Crane said the position drew 55 applicants by the first review date and that applicants came from two countries, 13 states and 35 from Texas. Carbajal and Crane announced a public meet‑and‑greet scheduled for Dec. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Permitting & Development Center (1405 Wilhelmina Drive, room 1405). The event will be moderated; attendees may submit questions during the event and use a QR code to provide written feedback that will be given to the Assistant City Manager for consideration by the city manager, who makes the appointment.

"Each finalist will be given an opportunity to share why they're interested and to answer moderator questions," Crane said. "Attendees will also be able to submit questions and provide feedback via QR code; that feedback will be provided to ACM Carbajal for her consideration in the selection process."

Commissioners pressed for clarity about publicity for the event and how stakeholder and community input will be weighed. Carbajal said the city would issue a media release to publicize the meet‑and‑greet and that stakeholder panel input and community feedback would be considered together and reviewed by the city manager as part of the appointment decision.

Public commenters recommended specific steps the city could take to prevent past mistakes: vet finalists' operational experience at open‑intake shelters, require meet‑and‑greets in neighborhoods with the highest 311 call volumes, ask finalists to tour the shelter and meet staff and volunteers, and insist on demonstrated crisis response experience (extreme weather, pandemic, floods).

What happens next: the recruiter's team will begin first‑round interviews; the public meet‑and‑greet is set for Dec. 18; community feedback collected there will be forwarded to the Assistant City Manager and considered by the city manager in making an appointment.