Rebecca Guinn left behind a successful law career after visiting a county shelter where the majority of animals had been euthanized.  Thinking there had to be a better way for a community to address its homeless pet population, she founded LifeLine Animal Project in 2002 and implemented a long-term strategy to redefine metro Atlanta’s practices and philosophies regarding caring for animal companions. 

Under Rebecca’s leadership, LifeLine was awarded the contracts to manage the troubled Fulton and DeKalb County animal shelters in 2013. They have since sustained lifesaving rates above 90% at both shelters for the first time in Atlanta’s history. LifeLine also operates two low-cost, high-volume spay and neuter clinics and opened the LifeLine’s Community Animal Center in 2019, featuring an adoption center and a full-service, low-cost veterinary clinic to help make pet care accessible to all. LifeLine provides services to over 40,000 animals annually and has performed 150,000 free and low-cost spay/neuter surgeries to date, including 50,000 spays or neuters for community cats through its Community Cat program, metro Atlanta’s first and largest Trap-Neuter-Return assistance program. LifeLine’s extensive community outreach initiatives improve the quality of life for pets and help keep them with the people who love them.

A licensed attorney, Rebecca drafted state legislation that banned the use of gas chambers in Georgia shelters and worked to revise animal ordinances in Fulton and DeKalb Counties. She is active in the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia and a member of Best Friends Animal Society’s No-Kill 2025 National Steering Committee. Rebecca and her partner share the home of four dogs and a number of cats.