- By Kerry A. Barnes
- Around Town
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Ithaca… The Board of Trustees, staff, volunteers, and of course, animals of the Tompkins County SPCA are proud to introduce our new Executive Director, Jeff Lydon. He offers a broad range of experience in non-profit management and animal advocacy, as well as a compelling vision for our future.
While completing his master’s degree in teaching at Smith College where he focused his studies on humane education, Jeff served as the fund raising coordinator at New England Animal Action in Massachusetts. Upon returning to the Finger Lakes, he worked as the Education Coordinator at Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal advocacy organization. With an outstanding track record in grant writing, Jeff acquired tens of thousands of dollars for humane educators in upstate New York. He also wrote companion materials for the award winning Animal People documentaries produced by the Ithaca based film makers Tribe of Heart.
While completing his master’s degree in teaching at Smith College where he focused his studies on humane education, Jeff served as the fund raising coordinator at New England Animal Action in Massachusetts. Upon returning to the Finger Lakes, he worked as the Education Coordinator at Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal advocacy organization. With an outstanding track record in grant writing, Jeff acquired tens of thousands of dollars for humane educators in upstate New York. He also wrote companion materials for the award winning Animal People documentaries produced by the Ithaca based film makers Tribe of Heart.
Jeff also managed a homeless shelter and, fluent in American Sign Language, taught at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester. At his last post, Executive Director of Schuyler Head Start, Jeff raised a struggling agency from the brink of dissolution to the status of Outstanding Grantee among a field of 2,600 eligible programs nationwide. He’s published articles on animal issues in Satya Magazine, The Ithaca Times, and Animals’ Agenda – to name a few. A former volunteer at the Tompkins County SPCA, he has taken great pleasure in the success of the no-kill mission.
“The sense of mission here is equaled only by the level of devotion,” Jeff said of the shelter, “and it’s immensely inspiring to be part of that.” He never tires of meeting our canine and feline guests, and you might recognize him by the all the dog and cat hair on his sports coat.
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