Dear Cat’s Cradle Community, 

If you have not yet heard, we have exciting news! After a nation-wide search, Cat’s Cradle is pleased to announce that we have hired Sherri Heishman as our first ever full-time Executive Director. A graduate of Virginia Tech’s Animal Science program, Sherri brings with her years of personal management and charitable giving experience. She also has deep knowledge of Cat’s Cradle through her time with us as a volunteer, cat foster parent, and more recently, its marketing and design consultant. Many of the posts and graphics you’ve seen have come right from her skillful hands!

For many years, Cat’s Cradle tried to hire an executive director but without success; we did not want to impair or discontinue any of our core programs in order to fund an executive position. As such, we’ve operated under a working board model where board members collectively ran the organization and helped manage staff. 

Recently, a generous benefactor made a restricted, endowed gift to create and maintain an executive director position which means Cat’s Cradle can continue putting around 90% of your donations right back into the community through our programs and services. 

In Sherri’s words, “Cat’s Cradle has been near and dear to my heart for many years. I couldn’t be happier how the stars aligned for this opportunity at this point in my career. Together, with the amazing board of directors, employees, and volunteers, I strive to make an impact and give a voice to the most vulnerable cats and pet owners in our communities.”

As Executive Director, Sherri will manage Cat’s Cradle’s day-to-day operations, which allows her to have a more intimate knowledge of all we do. Having one person at the helm is excellent for Cat’s Cradle because it will bring long-term stability. 

Sherri also had put forward many excellent plans to grow Cat’s Cradle over the coming years – several of which have already begun rolling out! 

We’re so thankful that you’ve stayed with Cat’s Cradle over the years, and your undying support is part of what compelled our selfless benefactor to underwrite this new executive director position. THANK YOU!!

If you’d like to congratulate Sherri on her new position, please reach out to her and say ‘hi!’ at sherri@catscradleva.org.

—The Board of Cat’s Cradle