Addition of state director upgrades animal welfare advocacy and capacity in the ‘First State’
Washington, D.C. – Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy announce the hiring of Taylor Nickerson as Delaware State Director.
“I am thrilled to announce we have a state director in Delaware, who has dedicated her life to criminal justice and high legal standards to protect animals,” says Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “We need legal standards to forbid cruelty, and I know Taylor is committed to that goal. She’s also committed to enforcing laws once they are on the books.”
TAYLOR NICKERSON, State Director Delaware
Taylor Nickerson was born and raised in Delaware and grew up assisting her mother with her nonprofit horse rescue.
She is a Clinical Care Technician at Penn Vet New Bolton Center — the large-animal hospital and campus of the Veterinary School of the University of Pennsylvania. She previously worked as Delaware’s Livestock Welfare Investigator for the state’s Department of Agriculture, and as an Animal Control Officer for Queen Anne County, Maryland.
Nickerson is a graduate of Wilmington University, possessing an associate degree in Liberal Studies and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. At Wilmington University, she was recognized for becoming a member of the university’s Eta Beta Chapter of the Alpha Phi Sigma National Criminal Justice Honor Society. The society recognizes academic excellence among students of criminal justice. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Administration of Justice.
“Leaving my Livestock Welfare Investigator position doesn’t mean I’m finished trying to make a change,” Nickerson says. “As I have been chosen to be the Delaware State Director for Animal Wellness Action, my goal is to get Delaware’s Animal Cruelty Legislation up to par so cases are properly prosecuted at the judicial level.”
Animal Wellness Action focuses on passing federal legislation to better protect animals and is now working on state-level legislation and other advocacy programs.
The Center for a Humane Economy urges corporations to include animal welfare in their supply chains, R&D programs, and other operations, thereby creating a more humane economic order.