FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sacramento, CA (August 1, 2005) – United Animal Nations (UAN), North America’s leading provider of emergency animal sheltering and disaster relief services, is pleased to welcome Tiffany Mahaffey of Olathe, Kansas as the new Midwest Regional Director for its Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS).
As EARS Midwest Regional Director, a volunteer position, Mahaffey will monitor disasters that may affect animals in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. She will work with local authorities to set up temporary shelters and coordinate necessary rescue efforts. She will also train new EARS volunteers and form essential relationships with law enforcement, emergency management and animal control agencies in her region.
Mahaffey is the assistant director for emergency management at the University of Kansas Medical Center (UKMC), where she is the Homeland Security specialist and oversees disaster response and emergency management. She is a former member of several search-and-rescue teams from throughout the country and a member of the National Association of Search & Rescue Professionals. She has served as an advisor to several emergency management committees for various organizations throughout the Midwest and participated in numerous Office of Homeland Security and Domestic Preparedness trainings nationwide. She is Red Cross-certified in first aid, pet first aid and CPR.
“Tiffany’s background in emergency management and animal handling will make our animal disaster response team, which is already the best in the nation, even stronger,” said EARS National Director Kay Mayfield. “Our EARS regional directors are amazingly dedicated and compassionate volunteers, and I know Tiffany will be no exception.”
Prior to entering emergency management, Mahaffey was a public relations writer for the UKMC and a reporter, columnist and editor for newspapers in Overland Park, Kansas and Dayton, Ohio. She has also worked as a veterinary technician and volunteered with breed rescue groups. She is working toward her master’s degree in fire and emergency management with a specialty in disaster preparedness and antiterrorism at Oklahoma State University.
“My passion for animals runs deep, as does my passion for emergency management,” Mahaffey said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to combine the two for the benefit of both by joining UAN’s EARS program.”
EARS sets up and operates temporary shelters for animals who are displaced by floods, fires, hurricanes and other natural and human-caused disasters. With a volunteer force of 2,300, EARS can respond to crises affecting animals within 24 hours.
Founded in 1987, United Animal Nations (UAN) is the nation’s leading provider of emergency animal sheltering and disaster relief and a key advocate for the critical needs of animals.
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