Bethany Heins

Bethany Heins has a diverse work experience in the animal welfare field. Bethany began their career as an Animal Care Technician at the Humane Society of Central Illinois from 2005 to 2008. Bethany then served as the Executive Director at Driftless Humane Society Inc., where they managed facilities, shelter operations, and staff, while advocating for better practices in animal care.

In 2010, Bethany joined Best Friends Animal Society as a Veterinary Technician, where they prepared and administered treatments to hospitalized patients and assisted in surgery. Bethany also served as the Community Cat Program Coordinator, overseeing the implementation of a collaborative grant that sterilized over 5,000 cats.

Bethany continued to grow within Best Friends Animal Society, taking on roles such as Live Release Manager at the City of San Antonio, where they led adoption, foster, rescue, and humane education programs. Bethany implemented strategic plans to increase the Live Release Rate and oversaw various grant programs.

Their most recent positions at Best Friends Animal Society include Local Program Cities Manager, Senior Manager of Regional Programs, Director of Operations & Strategic Projects for National Programs, Director of Strategy & Network Operations, and Director of Strategic Lifesaving Initiatives. In these roles, they developed and executed strategic plans, built external relationships, and played a key role in nationwide initiatives to promote lifesaving programming and connections within the animal welfare movement.

Bethany Heins earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Bethany attended the university from 2004 to 2008.