Arizona Animal Welfare League
Nicole Grivakis has extensive experience in animal welfare and education, currently serving as an Adoptions Counselor at the Arizona Animal Welfare League since March 2013, facilitating an average of 25 adoptions weekly at an off-site location. Additionally, Nicole contributes as an Education Volunteer at Liberty Wildlife, supporting wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education for the community. Previous roles include Kennel Attendant and Customer Service Representative at Villa La Paws, where responsibilities encompassed animal monitoring, dietary preparation, and customer interactions, as well as volunteering as a Small Mammal and Reptiles Keeper at Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium and as an Animal Care Assistant at The Virginia Living Museum. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Comparative Literature from Binghamton University, earned in 2007.
Arizona Animal Welfare League
The mission of the Arizona Animal Welfare League (AAWL) is to provide excellent care, protection, and loving compassion for the life of the animals entrusted to us and to take a leadership role in promoting humane values for the benefit of all animals and people. AAWL rescues, rehabilitates, and re-homes more than 4,000 dogs and cats that are abandoned or that have been surrendered by their owners. We do this primarily by rescuing them from other shelters in Maricopa County where they are likely to be euthanized due to the lack of time and resources to care for them. At any one time, our shelter will hold 140 cats and 190 dogs. We also have a foster parent network of approximately 90 families who provide care and shelter in their homes for puppies and kittens that are too young to be adopted, and those animals that are recovering from medical procedures or that need socialization before adoption. AAWL not only adopts companion animals into loving homes, but we also hold a leadership position in the community in education and animal welfare issues.