CAT ACTION TEAM - OUR VISION

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  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. 

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 took on numerous roles. When LFA closed, she began working with the Louisa Humane Society, volunteering on the fundraising committee, and caring for cats and kittens in foster homes, as well as at the adoption condo at a local pet food store. In 2014, she joined the Community Cat Project of Voices for Animals as a volunteer, most notably founding the Foster/Adopt program to socialize and rehome feral kittens. Joanne continues to TNVR, feed feral cats, recruit volunteers and foster parents, in addition to managing CAT’s Foster and Adoption Program.

Carla Drozdowicz 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, hoping they could resume their volunteer efforts once settled.  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 the Cat Action Team programs in whatever manner is needed. 

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. 

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 social media pages, developing outreach strategies, and supporting administrative and 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 boyfriend and their four kitties: Milo, Opie, Bean, and Huck.