Steven Greene Named Animal Services Director

The City of Lubbock is pleased to announce Steven Greene as the Animal Services Director. Steven, currently an Assistant Director, will begin in the Director position on September 20,2018. Greene has deep roots in Lubbock, born and raised in this area. He has over 15 years of leadership experience, five of which have been for the City of Lubbock. His leadership experience in the organization is apparent in the number of different roles he has held at Animal Services, including Field Officer, Lead Field Officer, Interim Field Supervisor and most recently as Assistant Director.

Greene participated in a national search for the Director’s position and competed against qualified candidates. Since transitioning from Field Operations to Assistant Director, Mr. Greene has made a tremendous impact on the changes that have occurred at Lubbock Animal Services. The shelter Save Rate in March, 2018 was only 52%. Since then, the Save Rate has steadily increased with June, July and August all being above 90%. “Steven Greene is the best choice to lead Lubbock Animal Services forward,” said Jennifer Harvell, Interim Director. “Steven is dedicated to the welfare of the pets in our community and the 90%+ Save Rate over the last few months is evidence of his dedication.”

Lubbock Animal Services has amplified community engagement through off-site adoptions, neighborhood mini-clinics, numerous speaking engagements, and educational-information sessions. Greene will continue these events and looks forward to adding more programs in the future. Nationwide, shelters with a high Save Rate rely on community partnerships and Mr. Greene wants to thank all of those who volunteer, adopt, foster, rescue and assist in re-homing animals.

Another new effort is the field level return to owner program. Due to this initiative and Steven’s leadership, the return to owner program has enabled officers to reunite over 240 pets in the field. A second program, which has significantly increased community engagement, is microchipping in the field. Field Officers have been able to microchip over 500 pets in the field since March of this year.

Departmental goals set by Greene have increased social media presence remarkably. Lubbock Animal Services has made social media communications a top ten priority. It is important to align social media, content plan and engagement plan towards the overall success of Lubbock Animal Services. Most recently, an immense amount of effort has been put toward revamping the City website. The website is partially complete and Steven plans to continue this initiative moving forward.

Volunteers, foster resources, rescue and transport partnerships are paramount. Greene has begun building a volunteer base at the shelter, working with fosters in the community and developing working partnerships with a number of local, state and national rescues. Volunteers are key in uniting homeless shelter pets with loving families, which is both exciting and rewarding. There is a volunteer role for every person as there is always life-saving work to accomplish. Volunteers and fosters are programs that are essential in saving pets, and Lubbock Animal Services welcomes you to foster, volunteer or transport. Again, these services are essential in saving the pets of Lubbock.

Greene is committed to the organization and its goals and values. Bill Howerton, Deputy City Manager adds, “I want to thank Mr. Greene for his role in the positive changes at Lubbock Animal Services over these last few months. Mr. Greene is well equipped to lead the organization into the future and to maintain an environment of cooperation with our partners and the best possible outcomes for the pets. I look forward to his continued success."