Staff and Board
Staff
Administrative Staff

Whitney Zoghby
Executive Director
whitney@paws4ever.org
919.241.8438 ext. 101

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
Development and Communications Manager
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
Development Associate
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!
Adoption Center – 919.241.8438 ext. 103

Sara Shellman
Adoption Center Manager
sara@paws4ever.org
919.241.8438 ext. 115
Sara has more than 20 years of experience working with animals professionally. She enjoys getting to be a part of a unique rescue that is genuine and compassionate about animal welfare and supporting pet owners. She enjoys guiding animal care staff in general animal husbandry and talking with adopters about pet nutrition. When asked what she enjoys in her free time, Sara says “hiking, hiking, and more hiking!” Sara has a dog named Biggs and four cats – Gary Dartanian, Shower, Rosemary, and Linnaeus!

Kristen Wheeley
Adoption Coordinator

Amanda Parsons
Animal Care Tech
Dog Training Program – 919.241.8438 ext. 102

Julie Handy
Dog Training Program Manager
julie.handy@paws4ever.org
919.241.8438 ext. 102
Julie loves knowing that her work helps people and their dogs form a deeper bond. She has been working with shelter pets since 2010, and she’s been a CPDT-KA certified trainer since 2016. When she isn’t training, she enjoys spending time with her family and watching movies – especially horror movies! Julie has two dogs, a senior brown pit mix named Jojo and big goofy white pit mix named Jerome.
Read more about Julie’s Dog Training experience.

Makayla Williams
Dog Training Instructor
Makayla@paws4ever.org
Makayla loves to see the amazing impact that training can have on pets and their people. Makayla has experience working with animals in the shelter environment as well as training pet dogs. She finds it especially rewarding to help dogs with challenging behaviors. She has two dogs, a goofy, talkative cattle / pit mix named Phil and a labradoodle named Lucy who befriends everyone she meets. Makayla enjoys hiking with her fiancé and her dogs. She’s always excited to learning about animals of all kinds, including freshwater snails! Makayla is a CPDT-KA certified professional dog trainer.
Read more about Makayla’s Dog Training experience.

Brian Gibbs
Dog Training Instructor
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.

Heather Daniel
Dog Training Instructor
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.
ReSale Store – 919.245.0445

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
Katie Stember (President)
Associate Director, Life Science Economic Development, North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Katie Stember Photography
Kendall H. Page (Vice President)
Rob Johnson (Treasurer)
Carla Julian (Secretary)
Jaye J. Kreller (Assistant Secretary & Member at Large)
Jill Grant
Sally Schatz
Director of Development, Duke Health
Perry Dowd
Sue Sopa
Senior Executive Director for Engagement, Duke Health Alumni and Development