Joyce Briggs, MS; Senior Advisor
As an Advisor, Joyce is engaged directly in one of two ACC&D collaborative projects with Mars PetCare and Banfield Pet Hospitals to survey clients acquiring puppies in the U.S. The U.S. is home to an estimated 84 million dogs and rising. Merely maintaining this population requires adding an estimated 5.5–8 million new dogs, mostly puppies, each year. There are no data on where the majority come from. This is a potential concern for dog welfare, both for puppies and their parents. It is relevant to outcomes for dogs influenced by their early beginnings—whether they remain in a forever home in a successful match, or end up rehomed or in shelters. And it is also relevant to how ACC&D, the animal welfare community, and veterinary professionals might advocate for expanded sterilization that will accompany access to non-surgical technologies. We also aim to study pet owners receiving subsidized veterinary care.
Joyce Briggs served as ACC&D’s President from 2006 through 2023. During this time she helped substantially advance interest in, work toward, and support for creating non-surgical sterilants for progressive population control of cats and dogs.
She has led the organization’s strategic planning, fundraising, and program development, established respected Scientific and International Advisory Boards, and produced and directed four major scientific symposiums and six scientific think tanks. She played a key cultivation role in developing strategic partnerships advancing this field, including the Michelson Prize & Grants and ACC&Ds Council of Stakeholders. As of January 2024, Joyce has stepped down from that ACC&D role to focus on better beginnings for dogs. She was excited to play a role in recruiting, and now supporting Gary Evans, ACC&D’s new President as of January 2024.
As a volunteer, Joyce currently serves on the Board of (2020) non-profit, The Functional Dog Collaborative, driven by her interests in right-sizing the dog population and in dog wellness. She is also on the Advisory Board of the Mars Ending Pet Homelessness Project. Locally, she is co-founder (2005) of the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (Oregon) a coalition which has maintained >90% save rate since 2014 in a geographic area of >2.5M human population.
As executive director of PetSmart Charities from 1999 to 2004, Joyce developed and oversaw the grants program, which raised and distributed $23 million to support pet adoption and spay/neuter programs, and helped place 1.2 million once-homeless pets in homes during her tenure. From 1995 – 1999, Joyce was Sr. Director of marketing and PR for the American Humane Association. She has also served on the national Board of Directors for the Delta Society for three years.
Prior to working full-time in animal protection, Joyce held corporate management positions for 15 years with New York City advertising agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather, and marketing leadership positions with Nabisco, Nutri-System and the Franklin Mint. She holds a master's degree in advertising from Northwestern University.
Joyce shares her home in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, daughter, dog, cat, and often, some foster kittens.
