Welcoming our Speakers
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Ellen M. Carozza (LVT, VTS(CP-Feline))
Internationally recognized for her feline advocacy and her no-nonsense, practical teaching skills in feline medicine and nursing, Ellen has been practicing as a licensed veterinary technician since 1996 and solely in feline medicine since 2002. She also runs the Chris Griffey Memorial Feline Foundation (criticalkittens.org), where the underdogs of veterinary patients seen in practice receive the advanced medical care they deserve and shares her protocols that made their foundation successful publicly. Ellen recently received the FETCH DVM360 Innovator of the Year, Paraprofessional Award for 2023 for her advances in veterinary technology and charitable contributions in feline medicine.
As one of the organizing members for the latest AVTCP specialty, Clinical Practice- Feline, she is one of three people to currently hold the elite title as a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Feline Clinical Practice.
Ellen’s goal is to always be a part of the process to help Empower the people who work with cats, Enhance the experience for the cats and owners at the practices they entrust their pet’s care at and Evolve and share the methods on how we work with cats for the veterinary technician in practice.
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Kate Benjamin
Kate Benjamin has been writing about cats and design since 2007. She is the founder of Hauspanther, a lifestyle brand for design-conscious cat lovers. She designs and manufactures handmade cat toys, beds and other cat products at her studio in Phoenix AZ.
You may have seen her guest appearances on Jackson Galaxy’s show “My Cat From Hell” where she helped Catify homes to satisfy both cats and their guardians. Kate and Jackson co-authored two New York Times bestsellers, Catification and Catify to Satisfy, the ultimate guides to designing a cat-friendly home.
Kate’s passion and mission are to use design to make the world a better place for cats and the people who love them.
She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with eleven beloved rescue cats and her husband, luthier Mark Allred.
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Surfer Cat
From the Emmy winning Netflix reality show Cat People. Featured in People Magazine and The Today Show. This cat is an extreme athlete. He surfs, swims, snowboards, skateboards and even rides a Vespa.
Mav can also be seen on the hit Netflix series Hidden Lives of Pets. He's currently shooting his new travel show in Italy, where he learns to make pasta (a close second to biscuits), and even dines at a Michelin Star restaurant for the filming.
This feline is extraordinary and he looks forward to meeting you at Space Cats Florida.
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Sterling 'Trapking' Davis
TRAPKING HUMANE
Sterling “TrapKing” Davis is a well-traveled ex-military music artist and passionate cat advocate. Since childhood, he was known as the only guy in his neighborhood with a love for cats. While taking a break from his successful music career, Sterling applied for a job cleaning litter boxes at a local animal shelter and soon found his true calling. He was promoted to an outreach position focused on trap-neuter-return (TNR), the humane method of controlling cat overpopulation. In 2017, Sterling founded TrapKing Humane Cat Solutions, a nonprofit dedicated to educating and assisting communities in TNR and cat management. His mission extends beyond animal welfare—he aims to shatter stereotypes around men in cat rescue and bridge gaps between Black communities and predominantly white animal welfare organizations. Sterling, who lives by the motto "you don’t lose cool points for compassion," is currently traveling the country, teaching animal advocates in communities of all sizes how to care for stray and feral cats.