American Pet Products Association CEO, Steve King, Joins Pet Partners? Board of Directors

APPA Home / Events & News / Press Release
July 2, 2020

{Stamford, CT). – The American Pet Products Association (APPA) is proud to announce CEO, Steve King, has joined Pet Partners’ Board of Directors. Pet Partners is the nation’s leading organization registering therapy animals for animal-assisted interventions (AAI). 

“I have dedicated the last 30 years of my life to pets and those who serve and support them. I’m excited to join the Pet Partners board to continue advancing the important role pets and therapy animals play in our communities,” said King. 

Pet Partners is the leader in improving human health and well-being through the human-animal bond, registering nine species of animals with their human handlers as therapy animal teams. Pet Partners teams make more than three million visits per year in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, libraries, and airports, deploys teams after natural, human-caused, or technological disasters, and provides teams for corporate employee wellness events. Pet Partners also advocates for legislation that promotes human health and well-being through its grassroots advocacy program and educates handlers and the public about the positive impact of animal-assisted interventions. 

“As an experienced business leader of one of the top associations in the pet care community, Steve’s knowledge and expertise will bring great value to our board,” said C. Annie Peters, President and CEO of Pet Partners. 

King assumed the role of CEO of APPA, which represents more than 1,200 pet product manufacturers, in 2019. Prior to this, Steve served for 28 years as President of the Pet Industry Distributors Association. He was also Executive Director of The Pet Care Trust, sponsor of the Pets in the Classroom program, which has awarded more than 170,000 grants to teachers to obtain a classroom pet and the habitat, food, and other supplies needed to care for it.   

King earned a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and earned his B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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The American Pet Products Association (APPA) is the leading trade association serving the interests of the pet products industry since 1958.  APPA membership includes more than 1,100 pet product manufacturers, their representatives, importers and livestock suppliers representing both large corporations and growing business enterprises.  APPA's mission is to promote, develop and advance pet ownership and the pet product industry and to provide the services necessary to help its members prosper. APPA is also proud to grow and support the industry through the following initiatives: Pets Add Life (PAL), Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) Pets and Vets Program, the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), Bird Enjoyment and Advantage Koalition (BEAK), and the Pet Care Trust.  Visit www.americanpetproducts.org for more information.

Pet Partners is the national leader in demonstrating and promoting the health and wellness benefits of animal-assisted therapy, activities, and education. Since the organization’s inception in 1977, the science proving these benefits has become indisputable. With more than 13,000 registered teams making more than 3 million visits annually, Pet Partners serves as the nation’s largest and most prestigious nonprofit registering handlers of multiple species as volunteer teams. Pet Partners teams visit with patients in recovery, people with intellectual disabilities, seniors living with Alzheimer’s, students, veterans with PTSD, and those approaching end of life, improving human health and well-being through the human-animal bond. With the recent release of its Standards of Practice for Animal-Assisted Interventions and international expansion, Pet Partners is globally recognized as the industry gold standard. For more information on Pet Partners, visit www.petpartners.org.

Contact

Contact: Jamie Baxter
The Impetus Agency
775-322-4022
jamie@theimpetusagency.com