I started in the proverbial mail room of Best Friends in 1996 as employee #17, doing whatever needed to be done on a given day — be that cleaning kennels, tabling outside of grocery stores, or laying irrigation lines. As I progressed, I had the opportunity to lead Best Friends’ community programs and services division, launching NKLA (no-kill Los Angeles) and helping to launch NKUT (no-kill Utah). From there, I moved into the role of the marketing, communications, and development leader, where the team and I grew Best Friends’ fundraising by nearly 50 percent to reach an all-time revenue high of $137 million annually. It was in that role, too, that I