Michelle Harvanek is an accomplished non-profit professional with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a variety of experience in animal welfare management. Michelle currently serves as the Director of Operations at Northeast Animal Shelter (NEAS) in Salem, MA, where she oversees the largest animal relocation program in New England. Prior to joining NEAS, Michelle was the Shelter Operations Manager at Cleveland Animal Care and Control (CACC) where she focused on reducing the length of stay for large dogs and improving the quality of care for animals in the shelter. In her time at CACC, Michelle developed the volunteer, foster, and adoption programs and also worked closely with animal welfare organizations both locally and across the country to relocate dogs from the overcrowded Cleveland shelter, while also working diligently within the community to reunite lost pets with their owners.

Michelle lives in Beverly, MA with her lovely (and loud) hound named Sal, who came north from South Carolina through relocation, and her mischievous cat named Max, who was a surrender to Cleveland Animal Care and Control.