Esther Mechler

Esther Mechler is the founder and national director of SPAY/USA.  Ms. Mechler's areas of expertise include grassroots organizing, leadership development, information networking and the implementation of projects and programs to end the cat and dog surplus.
 

A regular speaker at seminars and conferences in the U.S. and Eastern Europe, she also helps edit Paws to Think magazine.  She co-produced the video, Throwaways along with its Spanish-language equivalent Rechazados, dealing with the overpopulation of cats and dogs.  The video, produced with funding from the ASPCA, comes with a teaching guide and poster.
 

Ms. Mechler assisted with the startup of hundreds of affordable spay programs and clinics, both fixed-site and mobile throughout the United States and more recently has helped organize study tours by vets from other countries who wish  to learn more about methods and techniques used in the U.S.
 

SPAY/USA, now a program of The Pet Savers Foundation, operates a toll-free hotline with two full-time phone counselors to help callers find help in their areas. Conferences (local, state, regional and national) are organized to empower local groups and individuals to maximize their potential to end the pet surplus.
 

Ms. Mechler received her Bachelor's Degree from Bates College, spending her Junior year in Geneva, Switzerland studying with psychologist Jean Piaget.  Her M Ed and Sixth Year degrees are from The University of Rochester in Education.  She has co-produced two award-winning videos promoting animal welfare and won the Geraldine R. Dodge Award for Humane Ethics in Action in 1995.  She has worked in animal protection for twenty years.