United States
Laurence Van Atten-Holyoak - Development Manager
Before joining International Animal Rescue in September 2006 as our US representative, Laurence studied Wildlife Conservation at the University of Massachusetts and received a Master’s Degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
As part of her degree course Laurence spent three months at the Agra bear sanctuary studying the benefits of environmental enrichment to the rescued blind bears.
Laurence lives with her two rescued dogs and a cat. In her free time, she volunteers on TNR (trap-neuter-return) projects for homeless cats. Most of the cats are feral and have to be returned to their colony, but if she finds a friendly cat that is lost or abandoned, kindhearted Laurence brings it home and tries to trace its owner or find it a new forever home. Laurence's passion for animals and her hands-on experience of International Animal Rescue's work make her ideally suited to the job of raising awareness of the charity and recruiting US donors and celebrity supporters for our projects.