Katie Jarl is the Vice President of Government Relations. She has dedicated nearly two decades to the advancement of key animal welfare and healthcare policies and initiatives through advocacy campaigns at the local, state and national levels. Utilizing her unique background in government affairs, media relations and community engagement, Katie brings a fresh, strategic approach to policy initiatives.

Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of Texas Pets Alive! and the Director of Government Affairs & Policy for Austin Pets Alive! and American Pets Alive! In this role, she successfully helped pass state laws to eliminate sales taxes on pet adoptions, promote microchipping for pets and protect TNR programs. At the national level, she spearheaded the creation of the first ever Government and Policy toolkit and bill tracker for animal shelters.

Previously, Katie worked at the Humane Society of the United States for more than a decade. As Regional Director, she managed ten states in guiding priority legislative initiatives for the organization. As the Texas State Director, she passed laws and increased regulatory enforcement on a variety of issues. Her advocacy efforts have been covered by Good Morning America, The New York Times, Texas Monthly Magazine, the Houston Chronicle and other regional and local outlets.

She has worked with countless city governments to pass and amend meaningful ordinances to help animals. In this capacity, she served as the Mayoral appointee to the Austin Animal Advisory Commission for two terms and currently serves as a City Council appointee to the San Antonio Animal Care Services Advisory Board.

Katie has taught a variety of courses at national and state conferences on grassroots engagement, lobbying best practices, media training and crisis communications and a host of animal policy issues. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and serves on the public affairs committee of the school's alumni association, the Texas Exes. Katie lives in San Antonio with her husband, Jeff, and dogs, Yuci and Pitufo. You can almost always find her with a third foster dog available for adoption from the local shelter or rescue!