By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

Kerrin Conklin has only been on the job for six weeks, but she’s already getting her paws dirty.

In her first month as the new executive director of the CNY SPCA, Conklin has overseen the completion of a new contagion isolation room in the shelter’s vet center and has begun brainstorming ideas for community events, revamping the drab walls of the kennels and regaining the trust of Central New Yorkers.

“In the midst of clearing out the rubble, I’m getting things done,” said Conklin, who lives in Jamesville.

Conklin has a lot of rubble to clear out. Her predecessor, Paul Morgan, along with two other former CNY SPCA employees, pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $900,000 from the organization between 2010 and 2016. Morgan faces four to 12 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced next week. The other two employees, who agreed to cooperate in the case against Morgan, will be sentenced afterward. Taylor Gilkey, who had a romantic relationship with Morgan, faces up to seven years in prison, and Nicole Cafarchio likely will be sentenced to probation.

Prior to taking the helm at the shelter in January, Conklin was an independent payroll service contractor and owned a hospice in Savannah, Georgia. Conklin emerged from “semi-retirement” to head the CNY SPCA, to which she had donated her time and money in the past few years.

A lifelong animal lover, Conklin said she has donated to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, the Humane Society of the United States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“It’s almost innate,” she said of her devotion to working with animals. “When you see the inhumanity, the cruelty, you have to do something. My semi-retirement allowed me to get involved directly. That became a passion.”

Between daily operations at the CNY SPCA, networking, pursuing grants and dreaming up events — the CNY SPCA is planning an open house in March and a “Fur Ball” benefit at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown in September — Conklin doesn’t have time for much else. She said she’s always in “shelter mode.”

“I’m lucky if I’m sleeping because I’m always thinking of what to do next,” she said. “What did I talk about before I got involved with the shelter?”

Regaining the public’s trust

It will take time and effort for the CNY SPCA to win back its support, both from a financial perspective and in terms of community engagement.

Conklin said her “diverse knowledge” of human resources, benefits and payroll will serve her well in putting the CNY SPCA’s finances back in order. The shelter outsources its payroll services to ADP, but Conklin is in charge of accounting using QuickBooks for now.

“I manage the day-to-day operations … until we put a new system in place which has more hierarchy of reporting,” she said, adding that the new system will improve management of the budget and taxes.

“As far as the financials right now, I have a meeting with an external audit company to see about our audit for 2016 and our taxes for 2016,” Conklin said.

The CNY SPCA now requires two signatories on checks more than $2,000. Previously, the two-signature threshold was $25,000. The organization’s board treasurer and former interim executive director Nick Pirro told the Post-Standard in January that cash payments will be monitored more strictly and bank deposits will be made daily.

“There’s much more detail provided in the checks and balances,” Conklin said.

Also among the improvements to the CNY SPCA’s financial oversight are the establishment of designated accounts for specific purposes, the formation of a financial committee and a beefed-up insurance policy.

Conklin said she wants to improve the donation experience for the organization’s supporters. She plans to revamp the CNY SPCA website to allow donors to put their dollars toward a specific purpose and wants to give those donors recognition.

“Instead of just donating $100, you can donate $100 to a specific project. There’s a sense of ownership and pride,” Conklin said.

As for rebuilding relationships within the community, Conklin has a long list of plans. She has started an employee of the month program to recognize staffers who go above and beyond. She’d like to maximize the skills of the organization’s volunteer base; instead of automatically being assigned cleaning duty, volunteers will be matched to fill more of the CNY SPCA’s needs, whether it is helping to revamp the look of the shelter or assisting with filing.

“I’d like to give more positive feedback to people that come in,” she said. “I think we fell short in the past in acknowledging those who have given to us.”

Conklin is reaching out to local businesses, organizations and schools to create sponsorship and event opportunities. The CNY SPCA now welcomes school tours, and Conklin hopes to involve local schoolchildren in the process of redesigning the kennel area.

The CNY SPCA is also building bridges with similar organizations. Conklin said she is meeting with other local shelters and rescues to discuss collaboration.

“We have the same goals, caring for the animals,” she said. “Sharing that vision is nothing but a win-win.”

Above all, Conklin’s goal is to regain the trust of the community.

“It’s an amazing feeling to know you can make a difference for everyone,” she said, “and I really want the community to know they make a difference.”

Moving forward

In addition to improving trust and transparency, Conklin is looking to make the CNY SPCA a more welcoming place. She wants to give the shelter a facelift, replacing the facility’s “industrial look” with bright colors and re-envisioning the kennel blocks as friendly neighborhoods with “Blazing Saddles”-esque facades of homes and shops. The waiting area will have increased seating and Conklin wants to improve foot traffic with vibrant signage directing people to cats, dogs or small animals.

Conklin also wants to categorize adoptable pets’ personalities with a color-coded system. The kennels of easygoing animals who will get along with other pets and children could be marked with a green sticker; more timid pets who would do better with older kids could be filed under pink or another mild color.

“It’s easier to find what you’re looking for and increases the likelihoods of better adoptions, better fits,” she said.

The shelter’s new foster program also helps increase an animal’s chance of finding a forever family. Conklin hopes to expand the foster program; currently, the CNY SPCA has placed two dogs, three kittens and a rabbit with two babies in foster homes.

“It’s more about getting those animals into a safer environment, a healthy environment, sooner rather than later,” she said.

Many animals are easily stressed out in a shelter setting, especially those who come to the CNY SPCA with existing health problems. Conklin said fostering can help bring out a pet’s true temperament, which is often hidden by the anxiety and excitement of a busy kennel.

“It also gets them socialized,” she said. “Fostering allows them to have a normal behavioral area to grow and thrive in.”

Finally, the CNY SPCA will be expanding its hours so families can have a greater opportunity to check out potential pets. The hours are still being finalized, but the shelter will be open later in the day and will be open on Sundays.

“We’re hoping to get a lot more exposure,” Conklin said.

Conklin said it’s easy to look around the shelter and think of where that stolen $900,000 could have been spent — radiant heat and an additional cat playroom are on her wishlist — but she is focused on moving forward.

“There’s a reason why the rearview mirror is so small and the windshield is so big,” she said.