Meet the new CEO of the Halifax Humane Society of Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH ― Sean Hawkins, a veteran animal welfare executive, has been hired as the new president and CEO of the Halifax Humane Society.

The Daytona Beach-based animal welfare nonprofit has gone through several CEOs since the departure of longtime executive director Miguel Abi-Hassan in November 2021.

Abi-Hassan, who now has his own consulting firm, returned as interim CEO on Jan. 19 while the HHS board searched for a permanent top executive.

Hawkins intends to be just that.

He and his husband Erik Sandoval, a television reporter for Central Florida CBS affiliate Click Orlando News 6, recently purchased a home in the 55-and-over community of Latitude Margaritaville, next to the HHS main campus, at 2364 LPGA Blvd. in Daytona Beach.

“This is going to be the final step in my career, that’s definitely the plan,” Hawkins, 56, said.

Hawkins succeeds Adam Leath who resigned as CEO in January after just nine months on the job. Leath’s predecessor, Pam Clayton, retired after serving as CEO for just over two years.

Who is Sean Hawkins?

Hawkins was born in Cocoa Beach, where his father worked for NASA as an electrical engineer at Northrup Grumman, and his grandfather was a public information officer at the Kennedy Space Center. His family moved to Houston, Texas when he was 14. It was there, at age 16, that he decided to become a vegetarian after visiting an animal slaughterhouse/meat packing plant. This visit also sparked a lifelong passion for animal welfare causes.

He has since become vegan, but said that doesn’t mean pets displaced from the HHS animal shelter will switch to a plant-based diet.

“Dogs are omnivores/carnivores, just like cats,” he said. “Our dogs and cats eat a lot of meat.”

Hawkins’ career included leading a Texas-based organization called Spay/Neuter Assistance Program from 1985 to 2005, which opened and operated “high-volume, high-quality” spay and neuter clinics across the country. This was followed by positions as vice president of philanthropy for the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, director of strategic partnerships for the American Humane Association in Washington, D.C., executive director of the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society (which in during his tenure, merged with the Humane Society in nearby Santa Barbara, California) and served as director of advancement for the Charleston (South Carolina) Animal Society.

Until his hiring as HHS’s new CEO, Hawkins was for the past year the Orlando-based director of corporate partnerships for Mercy for Animals, a global animal rights organization.

“I loved the organization and wasn’t looking to jump ship, but the job offer for the position of CEO of the Halifax Humane Society was emailed to me by a friend,” said he declared. “I knew the wonderful work that (former longtime CEO) Miguel (Abi-Hassan) did to transform this organization from a traditional animal shelter into a model community resource for families and pets. The more I “I was involved in research on the organization, I knew I could make a difference.”

Hawkins said he’s still evaluating things at HHS, but said he would like to expand some of the services it offers, including its spay/neuter clinic and veterinary services. He also intends to reinstate the dog training program.

“We’re really looking forward to creating the next level of care for our pets in this community,” he said.

What is the Halifax Humane Society?

Taking the helm at HHS, Hawkins now oversees a staff of 80 and an organization that operates both a 50,000-square-foot animal shelter and public dog park on its main campus on LPGA Boulevard as well as the clinic for Redinger sterilization. at 600 Mason Ave., Suite 150, in Daytona Beach, and at the Rescue ReTail thrift store at 385 S. Yonge St. in Ormond Beach.

Founded in 1937, HHS serves all of Volusia County. Its mission is to “protect animals from cruel, neglectful and abusive treatment.”

Its services include operating the county’s largest animal shelter, offering classes to educate the public on how to care for animals and treat them with compassion, investigating animal abuse complaints and prevent pet overpopulation by providing affordable spay/neuter opportunities.

HHS takes in an average of 20,000 animals per year. The percentage it has been able to place in new housing has consistently exceeded 90% in recent years.

What they say

Mike Leonard, chairman of the HHS board, said the organization interviewed eight or nine candidates before deciding to go with Hawkins.

“He is certified in both CFRE (certified fundraising executive) and CAWA (certified animal welfare administrator), which is very rare,” Leonard said. “Plus, Miguel already knew Sean and was very happy when he submitted his resume.”

“One of the things we will ask Sean is to guide the Halifax Humane Society in working more closely with the other animal shelters and rescue services in our area as well as the CCFAW (Concerned Citizens For Animal Welfare) organization, which is a leader in trap, neuter and release programs in Volusia County,” Leonard added. “We all need to be in this together if we are to succeed in this quest.”

Leonard said the board greatly appreciated Abi-Hassan’s willingness to serve as interim CEO over the past few months.

Nancy Lohman, vice chair of the HHS board, said she is confident Hawkins is the right man to take the nonprofit to the next level.

“True animal welfare expertise is rare and Sean has both extensive specific shelter expertise as well as extensive experience and expertise in not-for-profit development and delivery” , she said.