Wayne Pacelle, the 38-year-old Connecticut native who last week
was elected Chief Executive Officer-Designate of The Humane
Society of the United States, promised on Monday, April 26, to
engage a broad range of people in a tireless campaign to
protect animals, which he called "one of the most important
moral causes of this age."
"We have a responsibility," Pacelle told The HSUS staff in a
packed conference room at its national headquarters. "Social
change is not self-executing. It only happens with human
agency, and really that's us as the professional staff of The
HSUS. And it's up to all of us...It's up to each one of us to
do all we can to advance this incredibly important moral
cause.
"One of the things that we also need to do is we need to
engage people in this country," Pacelle added. "A professional
staff cannot achieve all the successes that we envision in this
society. We have to engage people in every community in this
country if we're going to hope to succeed, because for us this
is not just a job. This is a cause and it's a mission."
The HSUS Board of Directors announced its new CEO-Designate
to staff late Friday afternoon, April 23, and made an official
public announcement on Monday. Pacelle is expected to assume
his new responsibilities in May after his contract is
finalized. Pacelle is replacing Paul G. Irwin, whose planned
retirement in 2002 was delayed by the board until a replacement
could be found.
"Wayne Pacelle has long been one of the nation's leading
advocates of social reforms to benefit animals, and our board
of directors recognized that we need a leader of his
determination and inspiration in facing the challenges of the
21st century," said HSUS Board Chairman David O. Wiebers, a
neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
The 1987 Yale University graduate has worked with the Humane
Society of the United States since 1994, when he left The Fund for Animals,
where he was executive director, to serve as The HSUS's vice
president for government affairs and media. Six years ago,
Pacelle was promoted to senior vice president of government
affairs and communications. In that position, he has been
instrumental in passing countless state and federal laws and
more than 15 statewide ballot initiatives. He has also served
as The HSUS's public
persona in various media.
Meet the New Boss
About 100 staff members gathered in the board room for the
afternoon meeting with the CEO-Designate, and dozens more were
connected by speaker phone. It was the staff's first taste of
The HSUS's new era. Pacelle will be only the sixth CEO in The HSUS's 50-year
history; the others have included Fred Myers, Oliver Evans,
Mel Morse, John
Hoyt, and Irwin.
"I think it is especially important that executive
leadership be drawn from within the organization, rather than
out," Irwin told the staff before Pacelle spoke. "And so, it's
great news that our board…has chosen to elect Wayne to this
position."
Pacelle assured the staff that "our mission is not going to
change at all. Our policy positions won't change." He also
noted that Irwin will continue to work with The HSUS, and that
Chief of Staff Andrew Rowan will have a "very, very senior
position with The HSUS, and I so look forward to working with
him in the days and years ahead."
The CEO-Designate did indicate where he would lead the
organization in the years ahead: into the crowded pens and
battery cages of factory farms.
"We are going to continue the excellent work that this
society has done, that all of you have done, but we're going to
continue to press ahead because the responsibilities and
imperatives ahead of us are enormous," Pacelle said. "We're
going to be identifying some major campaigns, one of which is
going to be factory farming. It is the greatest abuse of
animals that occurs on this planet. Nine billion animals are
killed for food every year, and most of them are confined in
intensive conditions."
Pacelle also gave staff members a rare insight into a chief
executive's psyche: "One of the things that I truly do ask
myself every day is, 'Have I done something this day that has
materially advanced the cause of animals? Has my time from 8 in
the morning until 7 or whenever I leave done something
beneficial to improve their lives?' And I think that every
person here should be asking that question of himself or
herself. So many of you are doing incredible work. We need to
keep our eye on the prize, and that prize, of course, is
improved treatment of these creatures who cannot speak for
themselves."
During a brief question-and-answer session with staff,
Pacelle was asked about whether the new factory farming
campaign would extend to areas outside the United States. The
CEO-Designate took the opportunity to address his international
experience.
"Some may be concerned that I have been quite
domestically focused," Pacelle responded. "I have been involved
in a number of international issues, but I focused domestically
because that was principally my charge here…But I even find the
divide between domestic and international to be almost a false
one these days. It's a global economy, global systems. Animals
suffer wherever they are, whether it's within the boundaries of
the U.S. or outside."
And with that, Pacelle said he was committed to working with
The HSUS's senior executives in charge of international issues. Then
he added a final thought about engagement again—and
accessibility.
"Obviously, I'll be here and I'll be accessible to you," he
said. "I spoke to the board about the issue of engagement:
engaging our board, engaging our constituency, engaging the
culture at large, but also engaging our staff. So I want to be
accessible and available to all of you."
