Best Friends National Conference

The Best Friends National Conference in Orlando may be over, but our work to save the lives of pets never ends. Join us for next year's conference February 20-22, 2025 in Palm Springs, California!

At the Best Friends National Conference from July 11-13, attendees learned the latest actionable tools and data-driven techniques to take home and to immediately start saving more dogs and cats in their community to reach or sustain a no-kill status in 2025. We heard from presenters from different backgrounds and organization types, including leaders in advocacy and community engagement, field and animal services, shelter medicine and animal care, fundraising and development, and more. Now it's time to take what we learned to save pets in our communities.

Group photo of people with conference lanyards on

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Attendees heard from leading experts in animal welfare

This year’s exciting lineup of speakers spoke about the latest and most thought-provoking innovations to help attendees reach or sustain a no-kill status in 2025.

Here’s a look at some of our engaging and informative speakers from 2024:

Dr. Aziza Glass, Veterinarian

Jackson Galaxy, Cat Behaviorist/YouTuber

Misty Valenta, Director at Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter

Jill Henke, Operations Director at Gateway Pet Guardians

Scott Trebatoski, Director at Hillsborough County Pet Resources Center

Shelley Delahoussaye, Shelter and Care Center Supervisor at Lafayette Animal Shelter

Watch select sessions

We're so grateful for our volunteers

Thank you to our volunteers who helped out at this year's conference!

Volunteers at the Best Friends National Conference had fun while making a difference! Our volunteers gave a helping hand to conference attendees and assisted in so many other ways.