Meet Our Leadership Team

Originally from Spartanburg, SC, Cassady has always been an animal lover and always had them as part of her family. As a child, her family owned horses, and she would love to ride and help her uncle care for them. For over 15 years, she also showed the horses, winning for both Western and English riding. Cassady moved to St. Louis with her partner in 1999 and became involved with Stray Rescue about 5 years later. Over the next ten years, Cassady supported Stray Rescue both personally and through her business and quickly grew to love the organization and mission. Cassady joined Stray Rescue of St. Louis as a staff member in 2014 as the Volunteer Coordinator. Utilizing her customer service and business skills, she was quickly promoted to Foster & Adoption Manager, Operations Manager and now proudly serves as Stray Rescue’s Executive Director. Cassady brings nearly a decade of experience in Business Management to Stray Rescue, having owned and operated Luvy Duvy’s, a beloved St. Louis grill and meeting space. She is also an active member of the Humane Society in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and served as a Board Member of the Bi-State Pet Food Pantry for over two years. Cassady lives happily with her partner, five dogs and three cats in the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis.

Andrea has been with Stray Rescue since December of 2014. She majored in Business Marketing & Communications at Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO. She also played volleyball in college. She is the proud mama of 3 dogs, Lux, Scout, and Archie, and a kitty named Louie!

Dr. Ortiz grew up in El Paso, TX and joined the Army in 2012. She began taking core classes at community college in 2017 while also doing volunteer work at the El Paso Zoo. She moved to San Angelo, Texas after being honorably discharged from the military and completed her bachelor’s in animal science at Angelo State University in 2021. She then moved to Indiana where she earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Purdue University in 2025. Outside of work she enjoys reading in the company of her cat Violet, traveling, and taking hikes with her partner and their boys Jake, Bailey, and Victor. She hopes to explore more of Missouri over the next few years!

After volunteering for several years, Aimee Dearsley has been with Stray Rescue of St. Louis since September 2013. She previously served as a Vice President at Wells Fargo Advisors for 14 years. Aimee joined the Stray Rescue team as the Business Manager before accepting the role of Director of Development several months later. Aimee’s passion for helping homeless animals and talking with other like-minded people about getting involved in a way that’s meaningful to them is what drives her every day. Aimee and her daughter, Elena, have adopted 3 dogs and 3 cats from Stray Rescue and can’t imagine life without them!

Donna has been at Stray Rescue since the early years. First as a volunteer/foster and then she officially joined the team. Donna is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia and has a BFA with an emphasis in photography. Her love of both animals and photography has been the perfect pairing for her at Stray Rescue.

Donna has seven of her own rescues at home. Her seniors are Kit, Shivers and Kukla. She also has her pittie crew, Geri, Elly May, Brick and her newest member, Odella.

Julia has worked at Stray Rescue of St. Louis as the Vet Clinic Director. She plays a key role in coordinating life-saving surgeries, thousands of spay/neuters, and more for the abandoned, abused, and neglected animals we rescue and rehabilitate. She also manages our Pet Food Pantry as well as our SIP (Shelter In Place) Program, which helps beloved pets stay in their homes when they need expensive surgeries their families cannot afford. At home she has 2 dogs named Frank and Eve, and 1 cat named Dora.

Natalie has been with Stray Rescue of St. Louis since 2015. She graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations at Webster University, and went back for her Master’s in Advertising & Marketing. She often hosts interns from Webster University to help them gain real-life marketing experience and build their resumes. She accompanies Donna on rescues, documenting the experience and telling the story on social media, web, and other communications. She has 5 rescue dogs at home and has fostered 40 puppies!

New to the Stray Rescue Team as of June, 2020, Spencer is a graduate of Missouri Baptist University with a degree in Sport Management. Spencer brings 10+ years of management and leadership experience in ASC/Hospital Revenue Cycle Operations, coaching, education, and facility management. Spencer has been married to Natalie Thomson, the Marketing Director at SR, since 2015. Spencer and Natalie live in the Shaw, St. Louis neighborhood and have 4 wonderful dogs from SR: Luvy Duvy, Cletus, Bitsy, and Auggie. Baseball has been a large part of Spencer’s life and he continues to coach at Marquette High School (Chesterfield, MO) where he is the hitting coach and strength coach.​

Kristen joined Stray Rescue as Shelter Director with a passion for animal welfare and years of hands-on experience in pet care and rescue. Before stepping into this role, she was the Treatment Specialist for The Gentle Barn Missouri where she worked closely with the veterinarians, chiropractors, massage therapists, and built treatment plans for the animals that needed extra care.

“It’s an honor to be part of a team that gives every animal a second chance. Rescue work is about more than just saving lives- it’s about building trust, healing, and creating a future where no animal is left behind.”

When not at Stray Rescue, you can find Kristen at home relaxing with her 2 dogs, 5 cats, snake, bunny, and horse!

Loren joined the Stray Rescue team in February of 2021 after graduating from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a master’s in Public Administration and nonprofit work. Since childhood, Loren has found comfort in the presence of animals and knew that one day she would dedicate her life to animal welfare. As Donor Relations and Development Coordinator, Loren gets to work with Stray Rescue’s dedicated community of donors. “It is an honor to be able to work with the individuals and organizations that make our work possible. No matter the size, any donation we receive means we can continue our important work within the community. Our donors make it possible to leave no dog behind!”  At Stray Rescue, Loren has truly found her calling.

When she’s not at Stray Rescue, you can find Loren at home with her three rescue dogs, Jolene, Gracie Lou, and Mummy. Along with her two cats, Timone and Pumba.

Shell grew up with dogs their whole life and befriended strays on their many adventures while traveling. They worked in the service industry for 12 years in St. Louis and Florida before a they started working with dogs in 2015. In 2017 Shell started at Stray Rescue as a caregiver. Since then they have been a shift lead, the shy/feral coordinator, was in charge of the REP program, and began shadowing the training department before being promoted to Shelter Manager. They are very excited about becoming the Director of Animal Care as Stray Rescue expands and improves daily. When not at Stray, Shell spends their time at home with their big ol’ mutt Rocky, shy pocket pittie Nellie, and is almost always fostering a dog or puppy in need of the socialization the pup gets from Shell and their dogs.

Katie is the Event & PR Coordinator at Stray Rescue. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from Missouri State University and brings nearly 10 years of nonprofit and event experience to the team. Prior to joining Stray Rescue, Katie worked in the nonprofit mental health sector, where she honed skills in community engagement and event management. She’s excited to apply those strategies at Stray Rescue to enhance the organization’s community impact and add a helping hand to the administrative team’s needs. A lifelong dog lover, Katie lives in South City with her partner and their four dogs – Lefty, Olive, Bug, and Fig.