Every career guidance book says that volunteering for a cause you care about can open the door to job opportunities. That strategy really worked for Kelly Slavitt, 39, an animal lover and now corporate counsel at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York.
In 2001 Slavitt had just returned to New York after two years working for a leading Australian law firm in Melbourne. It was right after 9/11, hardly a great time to be job hunting in Manhattan, and Slavitt asked the local bar association where she could volunteer. Slavitt wound up working pro bono with the staff attorney of the venerable animal welfare organization, helping to collect royalties from deadbeat licensees, and eventually found a job as an associate at Thelen Reid & Priest. In 2005 the ASPCA attorney, Melissa Norden, moved upstairs to be senior vice president, and when she advertised an opening for her old job, she recognized Slavitt's name among the incoming resumes and was kindly disposed.
Slavitt's can-do attitude and academic credentials also helped. In addition to her degree from Brooklyn Law School, Slavitt earned a master's in public administration from New York University and an L.L.M. in intellectual property from the Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. (She also has a dog--"he's a mix"--but had never taken a class in animal law.)
The ASPCA was looking for a lawyer with a strong background in IP in part because it was about to rebrand itself with a new logo, slogan, and Web site in honor of the organization's 140th anniversary. The new trademarked slogan wound up being "We are their voice"--i.e., the ASPCA speaks on behalf of animals. The organization's first choice for a slogan was actually something else, but Slavitt discovered that it was already trademarked: She hired investigators who confirmed that the words of that slogan were indeed being used in commerce. So the ASPCA went with the next best choice, and avoided legal trouble.
Slavitt also reshaped the organization's licensing operation, granting the rights to the ASPCA name to a more reputable group of licensees. One fruit of that effort is The ASPCA Collection, a line of pet gear including safety leashes and harnesses, as well as the always handy collapsible bowl. The product line was the recipient of Brandweek's 2007 Best Nonprofit Brand Extension, edging out the classy goods from The Smithsonian. The ASPCA has also recently granted IAMS pet food, a brand of Procter & Gamble, the exclusive right to sponsor one of its key adoption placement programs, and has developed a partnership with Hartville Group, Inc., an independent insurance agency specializing in pet health, resulting in a link on the ASPCA Web site to ASPCA Pet Insurance. "[The ASPCA] has done a great job in recent years of creating a coherent brand identity and momentum," notes Chris Edgar, chief marketing officer at Hartville Group, "so we all benefit."
Slavitt's background in IP also came in useful because of the careful attention that must be paid to the ASPCA's relationship with thousands of animal shelters around the country. "We are not an umbrella organization," Slavitt explains--its only animal care facility is its shelter and hospital on 92nd Street in Manhattan. Local organizations are SPCAs but not the ASPCA, a distinction that both sides want made clear: the ASCPA, so that it doesn't get blamed for operational problems at local shelters, and the local shelters so that each can stake a claim to local donations. The ASPCA provides local shelters with grants, training, and advocacy help.
The ASPCA has developed some trademarked programs that local shelters are free to use, but only if they take the whole thing, not bits and pieces. "It's like making a cake," says Slavitt. "If you don't use the eggs, it's not going to work." One key program--the one IAMS underwrites--is the ASPCA's trademarked "Meet Your Match" plan that assesses how shelter animals are likely to behave in their new home in the first few weeks, and then uses these assessments to match the animal with the right person. The program addresses the problem of "returns," when adopters bring an animal they are unhappy with back to the shelter--or worse, abuse it or bring it to the vet to be put down. "You can't adopt
a Jack Russell terrier if you want a couch potato," says Slavitt. The program is based on research data and has been shown to improve the adoption success rate. Another program, called "Safer," is used to evaluate a dog to identify any risk of aggressive behavior and give the shelter staff insight into what behavior modification is needed. It's Slavitt's responsibility to make sure that any shelter using these trademarks is actually following the ASPCA programs. "If you google 'Safer' along with 'dog,' " she says, "you'd be amazed how many places advertise the slogan"--and not all are following the ASPCA's rules.
"We actually do a lot of IP policing for a nonprofit," Slavitt says. After Hurricane Katrina, the public received numerous appeals from organizations unaffiliated with the ASPCA to give money to protect stranded pets, with the implication or promise that the donations were going to the ASPCA. "Look, while many were out to line their pockets by using our name, many, many were acting with best intentions," Slavitt says. "So, rather than send a cease-and-desist letter, we worked with them, and in general had a simple, one-page letter that helped us keep track of those who promised to send in money." The ASPCA's 1 million supporters are part of her enforcement effort. "Part of what makes this place great," she says, "is that our members police the trademark. If they see something [inappropriate], they often stop, take a picture, and send it in." Slavitt is also helped by law-student volunteers.
The ASPCA was founded by Henry Bergh, the son of a wealthy shipbuilder, who felt moved to help animals after witnessing bloody bullfights in Spain and the severe beating of a work horse on the streets of New York.
While people no longer beat their animals without compunction on city streets, the recent conviction of NFL star Michael Vicks for running a dog-fighting operation makes it clear that there is still work to do. Says Slavitt: "People need training as much as animals do.
