CAT's Board of Directors
Betsy Ballenger | President
Betsy Ballenger | President
Betsy Ballenger | President
Betsy has a BA from Vassar College and has been a licensed real estate agent for over 20 years and a freelance editor for over 30 years. She began doing TNVR of feral cats in Connecticut in the 1980s, as well as fostering/socializing feral kittens for adoption, and was a board member/volunteer for several animal rescue groups there. In
Betsy has a BA from Vassar College and has been a licensed real estate agent for over 20 years and a freelance editor for over 30 years. She began doing TNVR of feral cats in Connecticut in the 1980s, as well as fostering/socializing feral kittens for adoption, and was a board member/volunteer for several animal rescue groups there. In 2004, Betsy moved to California and volunteered with the SFSPCA and started a small TNR group in Pacifica. Moving to Virginia in 2012, she quickly became involved with Voices for Animals. In January 2018, she became director of the Community Cat Project program of VFA. As president of CAT, Betsy will preside over meetings, direct ongoing strategy and fundraise, as well as continuing to trap and transport feral cats, deliver food to colony caretakers, and track the inventory of humane feral cat traps.
Carla Drozdowicz | Treasurer
Betsy Ballenger | President
Betsy Ballenger | President
Carla is a veterinarian from the University of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Medicine and for the past 30 years has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in New Jersey. She also was a weekend relief veterinarian at Califon Animal Hospital during which time she began to assist her neighbors by providing free spay and neuters for their
Carla is a veterinarian from the University of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Medicine and for the past 30 years has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in New Jersey. She also was a weekend relief veterinarian at Califon Animal Hospital during which time she began to assist her neighbors by providing free spay and neuters for their barn cats. Her interest expanded to TNVR for community cats in the area and she worked with several individuals and the Animal Alliance of New Jersey in these efforts. These endeavors expanded further to include fostering/adopting from her home, placing over 300 kittens and friendly adult cats in the last 10 years. Carla and her partner of 41 years along with 11 cats (all rescues) and 2 horses moved to Crozet, Virginia, in 2020. She learned about Cat Action Team in April when a young female and her 4 kittens presented themselves from under the front porch on the day the movers arrived! Carla has already been active in the TNVR of her neighbor's cat colony and will contribute to CAT's programs in whatever manner is needed.
Ashley Morris | Secretary
Betsy Ballenger | President
JoAnn Freeman | Board Member
Ashley is a commercial construction professional, a 2019 UVA Mechanical Engineering graduate, and a long-time cat lover and animal welfare advocate. Growing up, her family cared for stray cats and participated in nearby TNVR clinics in Northern Virginia. Starting in high school, she acted as President of the Interact Club of Western Loudo
Ashley is a commercial construction professional, a 2019 UVA Mechanical Engineering graduate, and a long-time cat lover and animal welfare advocate. Growing up, her family cared for stray cats and participated in nearby TNVR clinics in Northern Virginia. Starting in high school, she acted as President of the Interact Club of Western Loudoun and sowed roots with the Rotary Club; in college, she continued this service as President of the Rotaract Club at UVA and Lacrosse the Nations. Ashley came to find out about CAT and our mission, and since 2020, has supported the team through management of CAT’s administrative processes, building strategic business partnerships, and organizing fundraising efforts. Her love for cats and community will continue to be the driving force of the work she does for Cat Action Team. Ashley lives in the City of Charlottesville with her fiancé and their four kitties: Milo, Opie, Bean, and Huck.
JoAnn Freeman | Board Member
Betsy Ballenger | President
JoAnn Freeman | Board Member
After graduation from the University of Connecticut and completion of additional training in computer software development, Jo Ann Freeman had a multi-decade, information-technology career at a major group health insurer in Connecticut. She managed development of business software and headed the organization’s strategic planning group. A
After graduation from the University of Connecticut and completion of additional training in computer software development, Jo Ann Freeman had a multi-decade, information-technology career at a major group health insurer in Connecticut. She managed development of business software and headed the organization’s strategic planning group. After retirement, she was a long-term volunteer for Habitat for Humanity in Greensboro, North Carolina before moving to Virginia. After personal experience with a tickborne illness she founded BugBeWear, an online retailer of tick repellent clothing. BugBeWear worked with many Lyme Disease support groups to improve public knowledge of tickborne threats and effective approaches to tick-bite prevention. Jo Ann lives with her husband and two cats, Miss Pippi and Lucky, in western Albemarle county.
CAT's Volunteer Leaders
Andi Senatro | Volunteer Coordinator
Joanne Showalter | Foster & Adopt Coordinator
Joanne Showalter | Foster & Adopt Coordinator
Andi is a Virginia native and a long-time animal lover, having been part of a family that rescued many cats over the years. Andi launched her first kitty rescue mission when she was in second grade and discovered seven orphaned kittens in a hollow tree after a flood. She organized some friends to help safely get the kittens out of the tre
Andi is a Virginia native and a long-time animal lover, having been part of a family that rescued many cats over the years. Andi launched her first kitty rescue mission when she was in second grade and discovered seven orphaned kittens in a hollow tree after a flood. She organized some friends to help safely get the kittens out of the tree, and by the end of the week, they had found homes for all seven babies. Animal Welfare is still very important to Andi. She has been volunteering with CAT for over a year and became Volunteer Coordinator in the Fall of 2022. She works in Operations at a local nonprofit and enjoys yoga, hiking, and camping. She lives in Albemarle Country with her husband and two rescue mainecoon kitties, Zoe and Zeppelin.
Joanne Showalter | Foster & Adopt Coordinator
Joanne Showalter | Foster & Adopt Coordinator
Joanne Showalter | Foster & Adopt Coordinator
Joanne attended St. Mary’s College of Maryland and raised a family while assisting in her husband’s medical practice. Beginning in 2011, she volunteered for Love for Animals, an animal sanctuary in Louisa, where she helped care for and feed approximately 140 indoor/outdoor cats. When LFA closed, she began working with the Louisa Humane So
Joanne attended St. Mary’s College of Maryland and raised a family while assisting in her husband’s medical practice. Beginning in 2011, she volunteered for Love for Animals, an animal sanctuary in Louisa, where she helped care for and feed approximately 140 indoor/outdoor cats. When LFA closed, she began working with the Louisa Humane Society, volunteering on the fundraising committee. In 2014, she joined the Community Cat Project of Voices for Animals as a volunteer, TNRing cats, feeding feral colonies, recruiting volunteers, attending food drives and tabling events, posting flyers, and heading the Foster/Adopt program to socialize and rehome feral kittens. Joanne was a founding board member of CAT and later took on the position of vice president while also running the annual fall shelter-building event. Her current commitment to CAT involves recruiting and training foster volunteers, managing CAT’s Foster & Adopt Program, and working on major fundraising events.
Maggie Williams | Social Media Coordinator
Joanne Showalter | Foster & Adopt Coordinator
Maggie Williams | Social Media Coordinator
Maggie is a professional photographer and a homeschool parent. She holds a dual degree from the University of Virginia in Global Development Studies and Sociology. Maggie became involved in cat rescue work as a young girl when discovering that kittens were regularly discarded at a dumpster site near her home. Her family adopted several
Maggie is a professional photographer and a homeschool parent. She holds a dual degree from the University of Virginia in Global Development Studies and Sociology. Maggie became involved in cat rescue work as a young girl when discovering that kittens were regularly discarded at a dumpster site near her home. Her family adopted several "dumpster kittens" during her childhood and found homes for many more. In 2020, Maggie first became involved with CAT when she contacted us for support in TNRing a community cat in her neighborhood. Shortly after, she became a regular foster and, later, became certified in TNR so that she could help CAT trap and transport feral cats. Maggie enjoys combining her artistry and her love for cats into our social media posts. She resides in Scottsville with her husband, two children, one pup, and four cats: Olive, Alexander, Calliope, and the stray who adopted her, Rusty.