Robin Ganzert is the president and CEO of

American Humane The American Humane Society (previously American Humane), is an American animal welfare organization founded in 1877 that works to rescue, care for, and protect animals by taking action wherever and whenever they are in need. It was previously ...

, the country's oldest national humane organization. American Humane works to protect animals and children from abuse and harm. Ganzert is the author of the book ''Animal Stars: Behind the Scenes with Your Favorite Animal Actors'' (2014). In February 2017, Ganzert was elected to the Forbes Nonprofit Council for Chief Executive Officers.

Education and career

Ganzert received her B.S. and M.B.A. from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

, and her Ph.D. from the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

. Before working at

, Ganzert served as deputy director of philanthropic services at the Pew Charitable Trusts, and she also was a national director of philanthropic strategies with

Wachovia Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...

. As CEO of American Humane, Ganzert works to increase global awareness about the organization, improve its efficiency, and boost the effectiveness of its programs. She also conducts numerous interviews and makes frequent public appearances on behalf of the organization. When Ganzert took over as CEO in 2010, American Humane had operated at a substantial deficit each of the previous four years. By consolidating American Humane's 40 programs into five platforms — American Humane Conservation, American Humane Farm Program, American Humane Hollywood, American Humane Rescue, and the Lois Pope LIFE Center for Military Affairs — the organization now operates with annual surpluses. During her tenure as CEO, American Humane has quadrupled the number of children and animals under its protection. In 2015, Ganzert successfully spearheaded the effort to change U.S. law, ensuring the return of retired military working dogs to American soil after their service overseas and reunion with their handlers. The following year, she launched the world's first certification program dedicated solely to the welfare of animals in zoos and aquariums. Robin Ganzert is the author of the book ''Animal Stars: Behind the Scenes with Your Favorite Animal Actors'' (2014), which discusses the animals and trainers featured in popular movies and TV shows.

Awards

Ganzert is a recipient of the Brava Award for top female CEOs in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

She was also named the Rare Life Leadership Award winner for her work in the humane field.

Position on animal welfare

Ganzert is a proponent of the

Five Freedoms The Five Freedoms, sometimes referred to as the Five Freedoms model, is a framework for assessing animal welfare that uses an outline of five aspects. They were developed in response to a 1965 UK Government report on livestock husbandry, and were ...

test to determine the state of an animal's welfare. The Five Freedoms stipulate that animals should be free from pain, free from fear, free from discomfort, free from hunger, and free to express natural behaviors. She has stated that American Humane's intent is "to have food supply animals treated as humanely as possible, at the same time our goal is to work with agriculture, educate them as to the best standards of humane animal welfare — and not put them out of business." Ganzert advocates for the federal reimbursement of military veterans who use service dogs to treat symptoms of

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganzert, Robin Living people 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people) American animal welfare workers American women chief executives American nonprofit chief executives Wake Forest University alumni University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni