Staff and Board

Staff

Administrative Staff

Whitney Zoghby

Whitney Zoghby

Executive Director

whitney@paws4ever.org
919.241.8438 ext. 101

Whitney loves to see the impact that Paws4ever has on the animals who come through our doors, the humans who love them, and the community as a whole. Before joining Paws4ever, Whitney worked in the animal health industry for 10 years and held leadership roles with an animal welfare nonprofit. She enjoys problem-solving and helping others develop. When she isn’t at work, Whitney loves spending time with her family, baking, and hiking. She has a 9 year old German Shepherd mix, Beamer, who is named after a VT football coach!
Kathy McVay

Kathy McVay

Business Manager

kathy@paws4ever.org
919.241.8438 ext. 110

Kathy enjoys using her bookkeeping skills to support the animals she loves! You’ll often find Paws4ever shelter dogs lounging next to Kathy’s desk in the Admin office. She spends her free time with her grandchildren and her two cattle dogs, Bandit and Lucy. Her dogs keep her entertained with their fun games – as soon as she throws a ball for Bandit, Lucy takes it and drops it further away for Bandit to retrieve! Kathy is famous for her beautiful flower garden and her holiday cookie baking tradition.

 Emily Albert

Emily Albert

Development and Communications Manager

emily@paws4ever.org

Emily loves receiving photos and stories of adopted animals in their new homes, and sharing those updates with the community of supporters who made their journeys possible! When she isn’t at work writing true stories about the animals at Paws4ever, she writes and reads a lot of fiction (mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and mysteries). She also enjoys cooking, playing board games, and spending time with her family. Emily’s home is run by her three affectionate and goofy cats – Samwise, Merlin, and Ollivander.

Savanna LaPrad

Savanna LaPrad

Development Associate

savanna@paws4ever.org

Savanna loves working with others who are passionate about animal welfare and seeing the positive impact Paws4ever has on both the animals and the community! Before joining Paws4ever’s development team, Savanna worked in veterinary support, adoptions, humane education, animal control, and pet-sitting. She is currently working towards a MA in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management. When she isn’t at work, she likes to go for walks, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, play Minecraft, and spend time with her boyfriend and their five cats, Jack, Houdini, Myrtle, Zara, and Ziggy!

Sarah Ellen Kelly

Sarah Ellen Kelly

Volunteer Manager

SarahEllen@paws4ever.org
919.241.8438 ext. 105

Sarah Ellen’s favorite part of her job is getting to help animals as well as meeting and training fellow animal lovers. Before joining the Paws4ever team, Sarah Ellen worked for over a decade in project management for a small clinical trials company. She was also a Paws4ever volunteer! In her free time, she enjoys reading, taking bubble baths, pedal kayaking, and taking pottery classes, even if she’s still mastering the art. Sarah Ellen shares her home with two furry companions: Maggie, a vocal and affectionate 15-year-old cat, and Jasper, a 10-year-old neurotic Weimaraner.

Adoption Center919.241.8438 ext. 103

Sara Shellman

Sara Shellman

Adoption Center Manager

sara@paws4ever.org
919.241.8438 ext. 115

Sara has more than 25 years of experience working with animals. She has worked with many types of animals in zoos, veterinary clinics, exotic care, and wildlife rehab since 1996, and has focused specifically on animal sheltering since 2008. The most rewarding parts of her job are supporting pet owners, supporting our animal care staff, and learning and applying the latest best practices in the field. She also has an obsession with kittens. When Sara isn’t at work, she enjoys long walks, hiking, attending motorcycle races, and hanging out with her pets. She has an 11 year old bully breed dog named Biggs (who wins the award for the coolest dog ever), and three cats, Girlfriend, Buddy, and Rosemary.

Kristen Wheeley

Kristen Wheeley

Adoption Coordinator

kristen@paws4ever.org

 

Kristen’s favorite part of working at Paws4ever is seeing each pet get adopted. Kristen has worked in the animal care field for six years before becoming Paws4ever’s Adoption Coordinator. She adopted her own dog from Paws4ever, a beagle mix named Flutter. When she’s not at work, she loves to read books and go for hikes.
 
 
 
Vanessa Morrison

Vanessa Morrison

Animal Care Supervisor

Vanessa@paws4ever.org

 

Vanessa loves meeting and learning from all of the people and animals she works with at Paws4ever. A true lover of learning, Vanessa has a master’s degree in education, loves learning about science and nature, and enjoys puzzles of all kinds. When she’s not at work, Vanessa spends time outdoors with her family. She likes gardening and feeding hummingbirds. She has a loving English Mastiff named Iris and a sweet Sphinx cat named Osiris, for whom she sews kitty sweaters.
 
 
 
Sammy Burns

Sammy Burns

Animal Care Tech

sammy@paws4ever.org

 

Sammy’s favorite part of working at Paws4ever is helping animals find homes and giving them care and comfort during their stay. Before working at Paws4ever, she cared for dogs at a doggy daycare. Sammy has one cat named Puma, two guinea pigs named Penelope and Aria, and seven rats named Lup, Newt, Nymph, Mercy, Jolyne, Ermes, and FF. Puma enjoys watching the rats. When Sammy isn’t at work, she enjoys playing video games, especially Stardew Valley, playing DnD with her friends, or hanging out with her pets.
 
 
Jordan Ragan

Jordan Ragan

Animal Care Tech

jordan@paws4ever.org

Jordan loves welcoming and getting to know each new animal that comes through our doors. When he isn’t at work, he enjoys spending time with friends and family. He is an American history buff, and he loves all things Disney! He has a German Shepherd Husky mix named Lobo, who is a 95 lb. lap dog. 
 
 
 
Olivia Thompson

Olivia Thompson

Animal Care Tech

olivia@paws4ever.org

Olivia’s favorite part about working at Paws4ever is helping people find their new best friends and seeing animals find their forever homes. Olivia has a sassy 12-year-old maltipoo named Mattie who’s been her loyal companion since childhood, two black cats named Marceline and Boo (formerly Tiana at Paws4ever), a Guinea pig named Bruce, and an American quarter horse named Ash. Outside of work, Olivia spends her time riding Ash at the barn and showing him on weekends. She also loves online shopping for her cats and enjoying her favorite movies, tv shows, and video games, including Monsters Inc, Community, and Minecraft!
 
 

Dog Training Program 919.241.8438 ext. 102

Brian Gibbs, CPDT-KA

Brian Gibbs, CPDT-KA

Dog Training Instructor

brian@paws4ever.org

Brian loves to be a part of that moment when dogs and their owners start to understand one another and communicate through fun, positive training. Brian started working with animals as a volunteer in 2018 after the loss of his own beloved dog, Sonny. When Brian isn’t training dogs or working in his other job at Duke University Medical Center in the Radiation Safety Office, he enjoys hiking at parks around the Triangle, collecting comic books, and doing puzzles.

Read more about Brian’s Dog Training experience.
Heather Daniel

Heather Daniel

Dog Training Instructor

heather@paws4ever.org

Heather loves to see partnerships between dogs and people strengthen. She especially enjoys witnessing the joy and pride of that moment when a dog starts to understand what their human is asking them to do. When Heather isn’t at work, she enjoys doing crafts like macramé and plasma cutting, watching horror movies, hosting theme parties with her husband, and traveling. She stays connected to her Scottish roots and attends the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games every year. Heather has a dog named Hornsby, 2 hens, and a rooster!

Read more about Heather’s Dog Training experience.

Eike Marten, CTC

Eike Marten, CTC

Dog Training Instructor

eike@paws4ever.org

Eike loves to see her clients light up when they’re met with empathy and given the tools that work for training their pet, and she loves to see pets light up when their needs are met and they’re trained with methods that set them up for success! In addition to being a dog trainer, Eike is an academic advisor and instructor with a PhD in Sociology. She enjoys merging those two disciplines and observing human-animal relations. When she’s not working, she enjoys hiking, enjoying NC wildlife, gardening, reading, and spending time with her pets. She has a dog Cricket,  who she describes as a clumsy shy boy in a big husky costume, and a cat, Darla, who walks on leash better than most dogs. Eike is from Germany and has also lived in The Netherlands and Chicago.

Read more about Eike’s Dog Training experience.

ReSale Store – 919.245.0445

Terri Shue

Terri Shue

ReSale Store Manager

terri@paws4ever.org
919.241.8438 ext. 107

Terri has a background in animal care, and she started out at Paws4ever as an Animal Care Tech. She loves knowing that she works for an organization that has such a deep passion for animals’ well-being. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her family and her dogs. She has two beagles, Jake and Piper. Jake loves coming with her to the ReSale Store, and he has his own set of fans. When customers come in, the first thing they say is “Hey Jake!”

Board of Directors

Sally Schatz (President)

Director of Development, Duke Health (Retired)

Katie Stember (Vice President)

Associate Director, Life Science Economic Development, North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Katie Stember Photography

Irene Faust (Secretary)

Retired Physician

 

Eleanor Armstrong (Treasurer)

Agency Director of Armstrong Homecare

Jill Grant (Member At Large)

Contracted Clinical/Forensic Psychologist
Retired, Federal Bureau of Prisons

Jaye J. Kreller

Real Estate Broker, Inhabit Real Estate

Kendall H. Page

Attorney at Law

Perry Dowd

Sue Sopa

Senior Executive Director for Engagement, Duke Health Alumni and Development

Valarie Zeithaml

Professor, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School (Retired)

Carla Julian

Public Health Nursing Director, Orange County Health Department

Rob Johnson

Home Mortgage Consultant, Union Home Mortgage

Daphna Schwartz 

Finance Director, City of Mebane.
 

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