Pasado's Safe Haven competitors

Following her magna cum laude graduation from Southern Utah University, Julie Castle and some friends made a brief stop at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary while on vacation in the mid-90’s. Forever transformed, Julie decided to forgo a career in law for a low-paying, high-demand job working in a remote Utah canyon helping animals in need. As employee number 17 at Best Friends Animal Society, Julie worked her way up the ranks to become the organization’s first female CEO in March 2018. In between she helped build the organization into a $130M, 800-employee strong national leader in animal welfare. Julie started her tenure as CEO with the bold commitment to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by the year 2025. Prior to her CEO role, Julie served as Best Friends’ Chief Development & Marketing Officer, doubling the organization’s revenue and support within a four-year span. Under her leadership, Best Friends earned the Harris Poll EquiTrend “Non-Profit Brand of the Year” four times, including most recently in 2018. Julie has championed the concept of multiple non-profit organizations, private and public municipalities and the corporate foundation sector putting aside competitive interests and joining forces to publicly tackle a shared social problem. Named by InStyle magazine as one of the “Badass 50 Women Changing the World” in August, 2018, Julie has spoken at TedX in Salt Lake City, Columbia Business School, the BUILD Series in NYC, and headlines the closing session at the Best Friends National Conference every year. Julie lives with her husband Gregory Castle, a Best Friends’ founder and CEO-emeritus, and their two dogs in Kanab, Utah.

Jonathan Reckford is an American businessman and chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International.

Andrea Williams is a Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Oregon Food Bank and is based in Portland, Oregon. She has worked as Partnerships Manager at City of Portland Office of Community & Civic Life, Executive Director at Causa Oregon, and Development Director at The Bus Project. Andrea attended 2009 Whitman College Walla between 2005 and 2009.

I am an advocate and a voice for animals; committed to preserving, defending, and celebrating the bond we share with them. Professionally, I have extensive experience in animal welfare in both a non-profit and municipal capacity primarily in leadership roles throughout the country including New Mexico, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Michigan.

Dr. Shital Vora is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Global Brigades, overseeing Global Brigades’ talent programs in addition to administrative policies and University/Donor relationships. Prior to dedicating to Global Brigades full time, she had spent 4 years working as a Doctor of Physical Therapy focusing on Orthopedics and Sports Medicine for one of the nation’s largest and most successful orthopedic practices in Chicago. In 2003, while completing her degree at Marquette University, Shital established the very first medical brigade club, which eventually developed into the model that is used today throughout the organization. From one club at Marquette, Shital and the GB leadership team has started over 450 active groups who travel to Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, and Ghana in providing primary health care and education in rural communities. Within Global Brigades, Shital had previously worked as the CEO of Health Programs, Chief Program Officer, and Chief People Officer prior to taking on the executive role. Shital has spent much of her time abroad with Global Brigades understanding the importance of health in developing countries. She has been actively involved with not only the expansion of the organization, but overall strategies for staff empowerment. Her focus is to involve staff in these strategies not only to provide communities in need, but also challenge the minds of young individuals who are embarking and building on their professional career. Shital is passionate about creating leadership opportunities for all staff, putting people first, and the “human” side of human resources. Shital sits on the Marquette University Health Sciences advisory board, and also has been recognized at Marquette University’s Young Alumnus of the Year in 2009 as well as Young Alumni of the Year in 2016. Shital graduated with high honors with a degree Biomedical Sciences and received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy.