On any given week, Cecily Cigolini is coordinating mobile clinics at local libraries and housing sites, reviewing spay and neuter requests, answering emails from pet pantry clients, or collaborating with veterinary staff at HSSV’s Community Pet Clinic.

As Community Services Supervisor at Humane Society Silicon Valley, her role centers on one core question: How do we make care easier to reach?

What many people do not know is that Cecily began her career in early childhood education.

From the Classroom to the Community

Before joining HSSV, Cecily spent eight years teaching young children. When she decided it was time for a change, she was drawn to community services because it focused on people first.

She did not arrive with extensive animal experience. She arrived with communication skills, patience, and a deep understanding of how to guide conversations.

“I’m really good with people,” she says. “I can work with people.”

In education, progress happens when someone feels heard and supported. Cecily applies the same approach in community work. Each family has their own circumstances. Each interaction requires listening before problem-solving.

That foundation shapes how she leads her team and how she engages with clients across Santa Clara County.

Care That Moves Beyond Four Walls

Community Services extends far beyond a single building. The team provides mobile wellness clinics, vaccines, microchipping, spay and neuter, pet pantry distribution and delivery, support for community cats, and end-of-life services when families need them.

For Cecily, meeting people where they are is both practical and personal. She has spent years in the field, building relationships at housing sites, parks, libraries, and supportive communities. Over time, familiar faces become names. Names become stories.

“These are their family members,” she says. “Their pets are their entire world.”

Trust develops slowly. It grows when appointments are honored, when emails are answered, and when someone follows through. Often, one service becomes the doorway to another. A family may first come for pet food. Later, they schedule vaccines. Eventually, they sign up for spay and neuter.

The connection is cumulative.

Spay and Neuter as Stability

Spay and neuter remains one of the most requested services in community care. Families reach out for many reasons. Some are navigating financial strain. Others are students or retirees managing fixed incomes. Some need proof of surgery to qualify for housing. Many simply want to prevent future health complications or unplanned litters.

For Cecily, these conversations are rarely transactional. They are rooted in long-term stability.

Spay and neuter supports healthier pets. It reduces the risk of serious medical conditions. It helps address behaviors that can create tension in shared housing. It also plays an essential role in managing pet overpopulation across the region.

The demand continues to grow, so the team has refined its approach over time. Appointment systems, referral lists, and waitlists allow them to maximize available capacity and reach as many families as possible.

When clients have concerns, Cecily returns to what she knows best: listening. She explains options clearly and focuses on partnership. The goal is to support families in keeping their pets safe and secure at home.

Relationship as a Resource

One of Cecily’s most meaningful projects involved bringing veterinary care directly to homebound pet pantry clients. Working alongside medical staff, she helped coordinate in-home visits that provided vaccines, microchips, and basic treatment for pets whose guardians had no other way to access care.

It was a simple concept: if they cannot come to us, we can go to them.

Those visits reinforced something she sees every day. Access is not only about services. It is about removing friction. It is about building enough trust that someone feels comfortable reaching out again.

Clients often return because they recognize her name in an email or remember a conversation from a mobile clinic. That continuity matters.

A Broader View of Community

Through her work, Cecily has gained a deeper understanding of the region itself. Different neighborhoods face different challenges. Some communities experience high demand for cat services. Others see more need for dog spay and neuter. Housing requirements, transportation barriers, and financial strain all shape how families access care.

What remains constant is the bond between pets and the people who love them.

Cecily’s background in education continues to influence how she approaches that bond. She teaches through conversation. She guides families through decisions. She creates systems that make services clearer and more equitable.

In many ways, she is still in the classroom. The setting has changed. The lessons are about preventive care, population health, and long-term stability. The goal is the same: help individuals succeed.

At HSSV, that success looks like pets staying healthy and families staying together.