President's Message

January 2024 Message from LACMC President Marcia Mayeda
Director, Department of Animal Care and Control

Happy New Year to all of you! I hope your holidays were filled with warmth and cheer. The sold out LACMC holiday party at the Natural History Museum was a hit. Members enjoyed touring two special exhibits: Becoming Los Angeles, and the Dinosaur Hall.  where we were able to see the only display of its kind in the world – a T. rex growth series that captures a baby, juvenile, and sub-adult T. rex, alongside other prehistoric predators. What an impressive venue for our members to enjoy!

Right around the corner is the Spring Conference in Santa Barbara and registration is now open. This popular location will again provide a stunning backdrop for our conference where we will focus on our management and leadership skills, education, and networking. I hope to see you there. Be sure to register before it sells out!

As we enter 2024, we are applying lessons and best practices we learned during the pandemic to make us more efficient and collaborative as we deliver services to the residents of Los Angeles County. Sometimes it feels like we are moving at lightening speed to be as responsive as possible. How do we make sure we are making the right decisions when the stakes are high, and time is short?

I recommend a book that provides excellent advice in this area titled, “The Agony of Decision: Mental Readiness and Leadership in a Crisis” by Helio Fred Garcia. This book is about how leaders and the organizations they lead can maintain reputation, trust, confidence, financial and operational strength, and competitive advantage in a crisis. The Agony of Decision was named one of the Best Crisis Management Books of All Time by Book Authority, the world's leading site for nonfiction recommendations. Book Authority had previously named the it one of the Best New Crisis Management Books of 2018. I hope you find it useful in your leadership role in Los Angeles County.

Best wishes for a successful and rewarding New Year!

Marcia Mayeda, CAWA

Marcia writes a monthly blog that can be viewed and subscribed to at: https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/directors_blog/