The Stray Hearts Animal Shelter board of directors this month hired Catherine Horsey, the former interim director of Taos Community Foundation, as a temporary management consultant.
According to a press release, Horsey will be tasked with helping to guide the shelter into a new era of stability and growth.
In recent years, the shelter has suffered from management turnover, breakdowns of critical public partnerships with Taos County and the Town of Taos, and personnel controversies that have damaged its reputation among local residents, including allegations of sexual harassment against former director, Liam Hughes.
In an Aug. 15 press release, the Stray Hearts board described Horsey's role as creating an organizational "reset for Stray Hearts."
“Stray Hearts’ board of directors understands that Taos needs a fully functioning animal shelter working countywide to ensure the best possible outcomes for homeless dogs and cats in its care and in its community,” said Amy Long, newly elected board president. “It’s time for a [reset] for Stray Hearts — a return to demonstrated best practices for shelters and nonprofit organizations, and a re-building of community trust. Catherine Horsey is the person to lead us through this process.”
As interim director of Taos Community Foundation, her most recent role, Horsey helped the nonprofit bridge the gap between her temporary post and the eventual hiring of former Taos High School principal C.J. Grace, who left Taos Municipal Schools District after nearly seven-and-a-half years in various positions to become TCF's CEO in February.
Horsey also served as program manager for Taos School Zone, which helped Taos Schools develop its community schools model.
“We intend to involve the community in our planning, which means it will take several months to gather information and understand Stray Hearts' best direction for the future,” said Horsey, who has more than 30 years of nonprofit experience, including 15 as a nonprofit executive director.
According to the press release, the board intends to create a business plan with one-, three- and five-year time horizons.
Stray Hearts was founded in 1991. It's mission is "to provide interim compassionate and humane care to lost and abandoned canines and felines."
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