September 2, 2026 | NEW YORK, NY – Urban Resource Institute (URI), the nation’s largest provider of domestic violence shelter services and a leading provider of services for families experiencing homelessness, is pleased to announce the appointment of Emily Knickerbocker as Director of URI’s pioneering People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) Program.
Emily joins URI with a career built at the intersection of animal welfare policy, human services, and social justice. Her background brings a unique combination of policy expertise, advocacy, research, and direct familiarity with the PALS model as URI continues advancing pet-inclusive services for survivors of domestic violence and families experiencing homelessness.
Most recently, Emily served as a Legislative Fellow in the office of New York State Senator Samra Brouk, where she conducted policy and budget analysis related to domestic violence, mental health, and family policy and developed legislation and briefing materials across a range of issues, including animal welfare and social justice.
Emily’s connection to pet-inclusive human services spans her career. As the first-ever Graduate Intern at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare, she supported efforts to expand pet access in drop-in centers and emergency housing and authored memos of support on renters’ insurance breed restrictions and a grant program to help shelters and housing providers accommodate people experiencing homelessness and survivors of domestic violence with their animals. Previously, she worked in government relations at the ASPCA, focusing on federal animal protection policy, and spent several years with the National Parks Conservation Association, where she managed a foundation portfolio and led youth outreach and engagement initiatives.
As Director of PALS, Emily will lead the continued development and advancement of URI’s pet-inclusive programming, working across teams and with external partners to strengthen services, expand awareness, and advance solutions that recognize the critical role pets can play in the lives and safety of survivors.
“PALS represents exactly the kind of work that has shaped my career and academic interests—the understanding that human well-being and animal well-being are deeply connected,” said Emily Knickerbocker. “Having studied URI’s model and the barriers survivors can face when seeking safety with their pets, I am honored to now join the team behind this groundbreaking work. I look forward to building on PALS’ strong foundation and helping advance its next chapter.”
Emily holds an M.A. in Animal Studies from New York University’s Graduate School of Arts and Science and a B.S. in Animal and Biological Sciences from the University of Vermont. Her graduate research focused directly on URI’s PALS model. In August 2026, she presented her paper, “Safe Haven for All: A Policy Proposal for Pet-Inclusive Domestic Violence Shelters in NYC,” at the University of Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics Summer School.
Emily joins URI having already studied the model she will now help lead—bringing a distinctive combination of scholarship, policy experience, and animal welfare expertise to the continued evolution of PALS.
