Honor Society® member
Vanessa Hidden
Co-Sheltering Collaborative Administrator at My Dog Is My Home is a national nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness and their companion animals. We work to assist service providers like homeless shelters expand their programming to allow humans and their companion animals to remain together. The Co-Sheltering Collaborative, sponsored by My Dog Is My Home, is a national community of homeless service providers and government organizations who are actively working on the implementation of *co-sheltering. The collaborative was developed to share expertise and showcase examples of innovative programs that address integrated human and animal sheltering needs. The collaborative provides members with an opportunity to engage in dialogue, improve co-sheltering methods, and create a road map for making co-sheltering a part of standard practice. Members also work together to establish other collaborative goals and are given opportunities to participate in leadership roles within working groups.
- healthcare leadership
- Class of 2025
- Windsor, CO
Member since October 2023
About
Vanessa has been involved with in non-profit animal welfare via various roles in foster care management, veterinary medicine, veterinary outreach, community cat management and providing accessible pet resources throughout SF Bay Area communities. Starting at East Bay SPCA, she led the shelter medicine and foster care support team, then spearheaded the veterinary outreach initiative at a non-profit/municipal shelter through multi-county veterinary financial assistance programs and mobile veterinary outreach programs. Most recently, Vanessa has focused on scaling accessible veterinary care through strategic planning and co-founding a non-profit mobile veterinary clinic operating in under-resourced communities throughout San Francisco and Oakland.
Currently the Co-Sheltering Collaborative Administrator for the non-profit organization, My Dog is My Home, Vanessa combines her passion for animal welfare with drive to collaborate at an organizational level to support healthy communities that keep families together.
Outside of her career, Vanessa enjoys playing ice hockey and gardening. She and her husband, Lucas, are guardians to three cats and two dogs, all rescues from her close work with shelters. She enjoys walks with her dogs in their new neighborhood in Northern Colorado and is looking forward to settling into her new state as a life-long Californian.
Education
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humboldt state university
leadership
2023 – 2025
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university of california-santa cruz
Physics
2011 – 2014
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Norco College
mathematics and physics
2007 – 2011
Honors and awards
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associates degree
Associate of Science Degree with Honors, awarded June 2011 from Norco College
Goals and interests
- Career goal
My professional trajectory is centered on a career in OneHealth, drawing inspiration from leadership roles in accessible veterinary care clinics. These experiences have sharpened my aptitude for bridging gaps in healthcare access for economically challenged individuals, emphasizing the convergence of human, animal, and environmental health. With a keen eye on potential pathways in public health and veterinary epidemiology, I am poised to leverage my leadership studies and extensive work background in accessible and preventative veterinary medicine. Having honed management skills in these roles, my overarching goal is to contribute substantially to the OneHealth field, championing the holistic well-being of all living beings.
- Graduate school interests
Master's Degree;
Majors: OneHealth, Public Health, Veterinary Epidemiology
Schools: Colorado State University, University of Edinburgh, University of Southern California (USC), Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine- Outside the classroom
Certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist in California, Issued January 2023
Completed Vancouver Humane Society’s Trauma-Informed Training, Implementing a Culturally Safe & Trauma-Informed Approach in April 2023; Trauma-Informed & Culturally Safe Leadership in May 2023
Completed CalAnimals Emerging Leaders Program, June 2022
Fear Free Shelter Graduate, October 2019
California Certified Euthanasia Technician, May 2017
Attended HSUS Animal Care Expo 2019, 2020, 2021, Attended Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Conference 2020, Attended MDMH’s Co-Sheltering Conference March 2021 and March 2023.
Completed VIN RACE Course MULT115-0620: Access to Care Clinics: Wellness and SN Clinics
Served on Human Animal Support Services (HASS) Ecosystems Working Group 2020
Play women's ice hockey; Northern California Women's Hockey League 2016-2023, Fort Collins Flames (Women's Association of Colorado Hockey) 2023-present, various women's ice hockey tournaments.
Experience
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Co-Sheltering Collaborative Administrator
My Dog Is My Home is a national nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness and their companion animals. We work to assist service providers like homeless shelters expand their programming to allow humans and their companion animals to remain together. The Co-Sheltering Collaborative, sponsored by My Dog Is My Home, is a national community of homeless service providers and government organizations who are actively working on the implementation of *co-sheltering. The collaborative was developed to share expertise and showcase examples of innovative programs that address integrated human and animal sheltering needs. The collaborative provides members with an opportunity to engage in dialogue, improve co-sheltering methods, and create a road map for making co-sheltering a part of standard practice. Members also work together to establish other collaborative goals and are given opportunities to participate in leadership roles within working groups.
Aug 2023 – Jun 2024
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Community Programs Manager
Vets in Vans (ViV), a nonprofit mobile veterinary clinic, provides comprehensive clinic services, including urgent care, preventative care, routine and non-routine surgical procedures, humane euthanasia and dentals (coming soon!) to communities in the Bay Area. We offer a comprehensive list of payment options and resources to reduce financial barriers to veterinary care. With employees trained in social service, ViV aims to work alongside the community to offer solutions in providing accessible and compassionate veterinary care to preserve the human-animal bond. Founded by two women veterinarians, both former shelter veterinarians at Oakland Animal Services (OAS) and several other nonprofit shelters, ViV believes in caring for pets as a social service to relieve communities of animal suffering.
Aug 2022 – Aug 2023
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Manager, Medical Operations
Humane Society Silicon Valley is a shelter that is like no other shelter in the country. Not only is it an amazing place for animals, it’s an amazing place for people. At Humane Society Silicon Valley we’re building a more compassionate community by saving homeless pets. Our mission is to save lives, keep families together, and create a better future for pets and their people. Our vision is a world where all animals can thrive, all people experience the magic of the human-animal bond, and all families are able to care for their pets.
Sep 2021 – Jul 2022
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Outreach Manager
Pets In Need has shelters in Redwood City and Palo Alto. We have owned and operated our Redwood City shelter since 1993, and in 2019 we began operating the Palo Alto Animal Shelter in partnership with the City of Palo Alto. Our mission is to provide animals with loving care and lasting homes, to partner with communities striving to do the same, and to advance our no-kill legacy. We accomplish our mission by transferring cats and dogs to our facilities from public shelters in the Bay Area and beyond when they are in danger of being euthanized due to space or financial limitations.
Mar 2019 – Sep 2021
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Medical Support Lead
East Bay SPCA is a local non-profit that is not affiliated with any national organization. We’re proud to be one of the oldest shelters in the country and one of the most innovative in our region. East Bay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (East Bay SPCA), founded in 1874, is proud to be one of the oldest shelters in the country and one of the most innovative in our region. Our mission is to transform the lives of cats and dogs by enriching the human-animal bond through respected and accessible expertise. We are a local non-profit that is not affiliated with any national organization.
Sep 2015 – Mar 2019
Volunteering
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Animal Care Volunteer: Provide husbandry and handling of wildlife housed at the center. Assist with medications and medical examinations of wildlife. Provide education, advocacy and counseling to the public with wildlife questions and concerns.
Northern Colorado Wildlife Center
Jan 2024 – Dec 2024
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Program Assistant: Coordinating and growing the Dire Straits Program for temporary housing of unsheltered individuals with their pets. Advise and support for the Advocacy Program. Event coordination for Colorado One Health Mobile Outreach (COHMO) Program
Street Dog Coalition
Dec 2023 – Aug 2025
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Veterinary Assistant FOAS PitFix Program’s Community Cat S/N Clinics February 23, 2020 November 8, 2020 February 7, 2021 Managed flow of clinic, floating from surgical prep to recovery as needed, keeping flow of anesthetized animals timed against rate of surgical output. Managed controlled drug logs, calculated doses and drew complete protocol meds for every patient. Clinic completed over 70 feline surgeries per day with 2 surgeons.
Friends of Oakland Animal Services
Feb 2020 – Feb 2021
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Veterinary Assistant Clear Lake MASH Spay Neuter Clinic; May 25-26, 2019 Rotated stations from intake appointments to surgery prep, anesthetic monitoring, triage, recovery, and client consultations. Coordinated duties with fellow team members, rotated stations relieving staff for lunch breaks and on the spot teaching of recovery volunteers. Clinic completed 178 spay and neuter surgeries and an additional 131 animals that received vaccinations via walk-in vaccination clinic over two 10 hour days.
Friends of Oakland Animal Services and East Bay SPCA (sponsors)
May 2019
Languages
- English (US) Advanced
Additional information
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