Interview! Rachel Geller, Certified Humane Education Specialist

"The moral and humane response to animal abuse begins with assisting kids in developing empathy and compassion for animals."

We are once again re-visiting an old friend of the podcast—Dr. Rachel Geller, vice president of the Gifford Cat Shelter and certified humane education specialist. As a cat behavior counselor, Rachel has been busy giving talks at various youth organizations to teach children compassion towards animals. She has worked with high-risk children and youth for a long time, teaching not only the importance of empathy towards animals, but also helping to build symbiotic relationships between youth and animals for mutual support. Rachel talks about the different types of humane education programming at Gifford, such as a program where children who lack confidence in reading or speaking aloud come to the shelter and read to a cat—the child gets a non-judgmental audience, and the cat receives some much-needed attention and company! You can listen to Rachel's first interview on the podcast here, or find out more about Rachel's upcoming lecture at the Whole Cat Workshop by visiting massanimalcoalition.com. To consult with Rachel about humane education programming for your organization, email her at [email protected].