Cathy Overfield, operations manager

Cathy Overfield is a manager of operations - embed project with Best Friends, working at Pine Bluff Animal Control in Arkansas. Cathy joined the Best Friends Embed Team in September 2022 but has been with Best Friends since 2010. Prior to joining Best Friends, Cathy worked for both private and open-admission shelters in Norfolk VA where she discovered her love for shelter operations and community engagement. Starting her career as a kennel technician she was eager to build her skillset and embraced several roles such as Intake and Rescue Coordinator, Behavior and Outcomes Specialist, and Shelter Operations Supervisor. Cathy implemented canine/feline enrichment programs and playgroups, held conversation-based adoption training for staff, led volunteer orientations, and led volunteer orientations, as well as managed all of the day-to-day operations.   

Cathy spent her first 5 years with Best Friends at the Sanctuary learning strategies on how to build successful relationships and set behaviorally challenging dogs up for success to increase their chances of success in a home. The skills she learned during these years have been intricate in helping mentor others find success with dogs they may have initially labeled “unadoptable”. Additionally, she oversaw the daily operations and managed several hundred kitten fosters and humans as the Foster and Volunteer Coordinator at the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in Salt Lake City.

Prior to stepping into this role Cathy worked for Best Friends in SLC Shelter Partnership Team where she held a key role in assisting shelters build out lifesaving programs. Cathy approaches each shelter as an individual and just like her work with the dogs she starts by building a foundation and establishing trust.

In Cathy’s spare time you can catch her destressing at home trying food from some newly discovered restaurant, or dancing around the house with her rescue dogs and cats.