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!

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.
 
 
 
Amanda Parsons

Amanda Parsons

Animal Care Tech

amanda@paws4ever.org

 

Amanda’s favorite part of working at Paws4ever is witnessing the joy that comes with the adoption process! She has a degree in Psychology and she’s currently in school for Animal Care and Management. She has a Chocolate Lab / Blue Heeler mix named Brooke. When she isn’t working with animals, Amanda enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons and other games with her friends.
 
 
 
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.
 
 
Heather Bell

Heather Bell

Animal Care Tech

heather@paws4ever.org

 

Heather loves getting to see animals go to their forever homes with their new families. Before joining the Paws4ever team, Heather has experience working in vet offices and volunteering with animals at Carolina Tiger Rescue, Duke Lemur Center, Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge, and Burlington Animal Shelter. When she isn’t at work, Heather enjoys collecting action figures, hiking, camping, and spending time with her cats and dog.
 
 
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. 
 
 
 

Dog Training Program 919.241.8438 ext. 102

Makayla Williams

Makayla Williams

Dog Training Program Manager

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

Brian Gibbs

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.

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

Katie Stember (President)

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

Kendall H. Page (Vice President)

Attorney at Law

Rob Johnson (Treasurer)

Home Mortgage Consultant, Union Home Mortgage

Carla Julian (Secretary)

Compliance Manager/HIPAA Privacy Officer, Orange County Health Department

Jaye J. Kreller (Assistant Secretary & Member at Large)

Real Estate Broker, Tony Hall & Associates

Jill Grant

Contracted Clinical/Forensic Psychologist
Retired, Federal Bureau of Prisons

Sally Schatz

Director of Development, Duke Health

Perry Dowd

Sue Sopa

Senior Executive Director for Engagement, Duke Health Alumni and Development

Valarie Zeithaml

Retired Professor, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Eleanor Armstrong

Agency Director of Armstrong Homecare

Irene Faust

Retired Physician


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