February 2, 2020 – Phoenix, Ariz. – Today PetSmart Charities, the foremost funder of animal welfare in North America, announced the appointment of Elliott Francis to its Board of Directors. Francis will lend his expertise to provide governance and oversight of PetSmart Charities in its mission to connect and keep people and pets together.
As Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Francis provides leadership and drives change through the development and implementation of strategic diversity and inclusion initiatives in the life sciences industry.
Prior to this role, Francis led the development, implementation, and management of an enterprise-wide Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Partnering Program across 40 business units at Booz Allen Hamilton. Francis has also held leadership roles in the federal government, where his work focused on ensuring the linkage between diversity & inclusion initiatives to federal strategic goals and objectives, and at the National Science Foundation (NSF), where he led the agency-wide Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Action Planning and Employee Engagement Initiatives.
“PetSmart Charities continues to work with change-making organizations to help transform the lives of people and pets and is committed to focusing on diversity and supporting animal welfare in under-represented communities,” said J.K. Symancyk, president and CEO of PetSmart and chairman of the PetSmart Charities Board. “Elliott brings a wealth of valued experience in accelerating diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we are looking forward to learning from and leveraging his expertise.”
Francis has a deep passion for animals and continues to serve as a volunteer aiding people who are unable to be active with their dogs, allowing pet parents to maintain the human-animal bond while helping pets live healthy lifestyles.
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About PetSmart Charities®
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. Through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities helps to find forever homes and families for more than 600,000 shelter pets each year. PetSmart Charities also provides grant funding to nonprofits aligned with its mission Each year millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the PIN pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses more than 90 cents of every dollar donated to fulfill its role as the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, granting over $450 million since its inception in 1994. Independent from PetSmart Inc., PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization that has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, a third-party organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 17 years in a row – placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.
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Media Contacts:
Golin for PetSmart Charities
Amanda Calhoun
469.680.2636
PetSmart 24-Hour Media Line: 623-587-2177
