ANIMAL WELFARE • PET TECHNOLOGY • PROJECT LEADERSHIP

Technology leadership for organizations working on behalf of animals.

I bring together 15+ years of Agile and project leadership with firsthand experience building and operating an animal rescue. I'm looking to help pet and veterinary technology companies, national animal-welfare organizations, shelter networks, and grant-funded initiatives turn complex work into better outcomes.

See where I can contribute →My rescue experience ↘

Bogey and Par, two bonded rescue dogs; Par is blind and Bogey serves as his guide dog — **Bogey & Par**Found together on a Texas golf course. Par is blind; Bogey is his guide dog. After months in foster care, they found an incredible home together in Louisiana.

A rescued puppy being held during transport pickup on a snowy day — **Transport pickup**One happy arrival—and one of the hundreds of dogs I personally fostered.

FOUNDER, PAWS FROM AFAR

Rescue leadership is operational leadership.

Building a rescue meant designing repeatable workflows, coordinating distributed teams, managing high-stakes decisions, and keeping people aligned when the work was emotional and time-sensitive.

~2,000 animals placed5,000+ applications managed200 fosters coordinated~98% placement success

Supported by 20 volunteers, 25 shelter partners, and 10 transport partners—with more than $100,000 directed to medical care and approximately 750 of the hardest-to-place dogs supported.

WHERE I CAN CONTRIBUTE

The bridge between mission, operations, and technology.

I understand what happens operationally when systems supporting animals, adopters, volunteers, clinics, and care teams do not work.

That lived experience allows me to translate real needs into practical delivery plans, better workflows, and technology people can confidently use.

Technology implementation

Lead veterinary software, customer onboarding, CRM, platform, and data-migration projects from discovery through adoption.

Program & project leadership

Bring structure, priorities, risk management, and momentum to cross-functional, multi-stakeholder initiatives.

Operational workflows

Improve foster, adoption, volunteer, transport, clinic, and customer processes without losing the human element.

Cross-team delivery

Connect operations, product, developers, vendors, and leadership around clear ownership and decisions.

Visibility & metrics

Create useful dashboards and reporting that connect activity to animal, customer, and organizational outcomes.

Change people can sustain

Build practical processes, documentation, training, and team capability that continue after the initiative ends.

ANIMAL WELFARE & PET TECHNOLOGY

Have a role or project where this experience belongs?

I'm open to part-time, contract, project-based, and permanent opportunities where strong delivery and animal-sector understanding matter.

Email Deb →

deb.shapiro1020@gmail.com US +1 617 417 7797 IT +39 344 543 9337