CHS Staff

Aria Davis

Laurel Couturier

Volunteer Coordinator

Donation Specialist

  • Aria was born and raised in the Ann Arbor Area before moving to TC! She has a life-long love of animals big and small, and knows that oftentimes taking care of animals means taking care of people as well. She’s done it all, veterinary receptionist, museum docent, activities director in a nursing home, after-school science teacher, and wherever she goes she has a passion for advocating for those who struggle to speak for themselves. She knows first and foremost how important volunteers are, and she’s excited to help them thrive! When not working, she’s usually involved in a production at the Old Town Playhouse, reading a good book, or explaining the plot of a tv show to her two cats (they’re uninterested). 

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

  • Laurel has been on staff at CHS since 2009. Her job consists of managing donor software program, is responsible for acknowledging donor contributions and handling end of day bookkeeping keeping her busy! Although she dearly loves both cats and dogs, she has a real place in her heart for dogs. She and her husband have one dog who is very spoiled and loved very much.

Connor Pobuda

Fund Development Specialist

Rebecca Fry

Floor Supervisor and Animal Welfare Specialist

  • Born and raised in Suttons Bay, Connor has always shared his home with animals and now lives with his two dogs, two cats and two children. A foodie at heart, he loves cooking, traveling for great eats, and staying active at the gym. In his downtime, you’ll find him snuggled up with his pets (and his wife!) watching scary movies.

  • Rebecca was born and raised in Traverse City. She attended Northwestern Michigan College and joined the CHS team in October of 2016. Rebecca loves working at CHS and says her favorite thing is helping the animals find their “purr”-manent homes!

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

Emma Openlander

Sherri Keech

Accountant

Adoption Specialist and Certified Trainer

Communication & Marketing Manager
and Outreach Coordinator

Naomi Pobuda

  • A mother of six children – two human and four furry, Naomi joined the CHS team with a passion for all. She loves camping with her husband and kiddos, cooking, eating and traveling to expand her worldview. With a bachelor’s degree from Hope College and nonprofit marketing experience, she is determined to be a strong advocate for all of the animals at CHS.

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

Melissa Veasey

Animal Welfare Technician

  • Melissa moved to Traverse City in 2016 and enjoys the TC summers by hiking, kayaking, and paddle boarding. She has worked as a Medical Assistant since 2007 and in 2020 began fostering & volunteering with CHS. Lily, a CHS alumni, had the pleasure of living with Melissa until she found her forever home! Melissa showed Lily endless love, deaf dog training, and how to play with all the bubbles. Now Melissa uses her talents to help care for the pets at CHS, how lucky are we!

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

Medical Manager & Animal Welfare Technician

Christa Trudo

Grace Reckow

Animal Welfare Technician & Foster Coordinator

Amy Bennetts

Veterinary Technician

Veterinary Technician

  • Amy is a native to northern Michigan and currently lives in Traverse City with her husband, daughter and 4 fur babies, 2 dogs and 2 cats. She has been working with animals as a vet technician since 2009 and has always had a passion for animal care. She joined the medical team at CHS in 2022 and loves how rewarding it has been to help animals in need! Outside of work, she enjoys hiking with her dogs, boating, traveling and spending time with her large extended family.

  • Ryann has been a Licensed Veterinary Technician since 2003 and has worked in small animal practice up until 2020. In 2020 she joined the Cherryland Humane Society and has loved it ever since. She is very passionate about advocating for the animals' health, safety and wellbeing; it is one of the most rewarding jobs she have ever had as an LVT. Ryann lives in Traverse City with her husband, 16 year old son, 2 kitty fur babes and 3 dog fur babes. They love boating, traveling, and enjoying the outdoors, especially here in Traverse City.

Ryann Vanderheide

Dr. Kayla Brunner

Austin Reiber

Animal Welfare Technician

Veterinarian

  • Dr. Kayla Brunner is originally from California, where she attended veterinary school at the University of California, Davis. She moved to Michigan with her family in 2019, and started working at Cherryland Humane Society after helping care for the Disney Dogs in 2022. She is passionate about providing excellent care for pets at CHS so they're ready to find their forever families!

    Dr. Brunner also enjoys spending time outdoors in Leelanau County with her husband and three daughters and their very silly American Bulldog and spicy long-haired cat.

  • Austin was born in Ohio, raised in Florida - which is where he discovered his love for the outdoors, skateboarding, hiking and kayaking. After many years of working retail and with a Bachelor's Degree from Graceland University, he realized he wanted to work in a field where he could care for animals. Austin and his wife have two dogs and two cats. His favorite thing is to help the nervous dogs at our shelter become happy and confident.

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

Billie

Office Cat

  • Billie arrived as a stray in 2017. She was skinny, sick, and managed to charm her way into the office, where she is now a permanent member of the staff. Her duties include working with the behavior team to see how other pets respond to cats, and sometimes even helping socialize animals. Billie’s ever positive attitude and love of all creatures make her a natural at what she does. In addition to her work with the behavior team, Billie does PR, provides humane education, visits nursing homes, and “assists” her coworkers with their emails. She especially loves “helping” the accountant and executive director. If you stop in, please thank Billie for all her hard work!

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

Meet our incredible team!

Tia Barbera

Heidi Yates

Shelter Animal Welfare Manager and Animal Behaviorist

Executive Director

  • Heidi has been with CHS since 2015. Previously, she was the Executive Director at Harbor Humane Society and The Humane Society of Muskegon County. Heidi has been involved in animal welfare since 2000. She holds a BA in Business Administration from Western Michigan University. She enjoys spending time with her two rescued pit bulls, cat and horse.

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

  • As a Traverse City native, Tia spends most of her time with her three rescue pups exploring Northern Michigan. She loves traveling with her husband, creating art, and spending time in nature. Tia joined the CHS Team in 2016 after graduating from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in Zoology, Animal Behavior and Neurology. Behavior is a passion that has led Tia to spearhead CHS's behavior, training, and enrichment programs. Tia wishes to change the mindset of “pets are property” into pets are sentient beings that deserve guardianship, protection, education, and advocacy.

    IAABC Shelter Behavior Certified

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

    B.S. Zoology, Animal Behavior and Neurology

  • Sherri has been working at CHS since October of 2018. She is part of the office staff, handling the bookkeeping and financials. She graduated from Northwestern Michigan College with a degree in Business Administration/Accounting and has been a volunteer since 2014. While she adores all animals, she has a special place in her heart for the kitties. She and her husband share their home with six puurrfect felines.

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

  • Emma has been an animal lover all her life. She rode horses as a girl and even taught her goldfish tricks. She attended Michigan State University to further her passion by getting a degree in Zoology, with an emphasis in zoo and aquarium science. She joined the CHS team in 2017 where she began to pursue her passion in animal behavior. Emma is an Accredited Dog Trainer from the International Association of Behavior Consultants (IAABC-ADT) as well as being Fear Free Shelter Certified. Currently she is the lead trainer at CHS, working with both animals in the shelter, and with adopted pets. She is also the proud parent of a very large, fluffy husky who keeps her on her toes!

    IAABC Accredited Dog Trainer & Shelter Affiliate

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

    B.S. Zoology

McKenzie Wright

Jane Duverney

Animal Welfare Technician

  • Jane previously worked in the dental field. First, as a dental assistant, then as a laboratory technician after earning and AAS in Dental Laboratory Technology. She retired in 2013 after 30 years in the dental field. Jane has been a life long lover of animals, having had horses, dogs, cats, birds and even a tarantula. She started as a volunteer for several years and is now delighted to be an official part of the CHS team!

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

  • McKenzie joined our team in 2021 after moving to Traverse City from Alpena, where she was the assistant manager of Huron Humane Society. Kenzie has had a deeply seated love for all animals her entire life. She enjoys spending her free time with her horses, rock hounding, and gardening. Her fur-crew consists of three dogs and four cats, all of whom were rescued.

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

Assistant Manager

  • Grace was born and raised in Kingsley where her love for animals started. She was a part of 4H for 12 years showing lambs and even raised her own flock. After graduating high school Grace moved to lansing where she lived for 2 years, there she began shelter work at Capital area humane society. She has had lots of foster babies and has a special place in her heart for hospice patients. Grace’s fur family consists of 4 cats, 2 dogs, 1 turtle and a leopard gecko. Grace loves helping all of the animals find their forever homes and giving them plenty of love until then!!

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

  • Christa was born and raised in the Detroit area and has always had a passion for animals. She manages the medical program at CHS and loves being able to play a part in helping animals in need find their forever home. Prior to joining the CHS team she spent many years riding, training, and working with rescue horses out west. She eventually found her way back to Michigan and up to Traverse City in 2018, where she now lives with her partner, their rescue dogs, and their kitty cat. When she's not working, Christa enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, and gardening.

    Fear Free Shelter Certified

A staff member is out in the yard with a white and brindle dog. The staff member is smiling because the dog has two or three balls in its mouth at once.
A black dog in the grass with their ears back, a smile on its face, and twinkling brown eyes. Their face is hopeful.
Billie the office cat laying in a ball pit sporting a clear cone around her head.

Join the team

If we have any available positions open at CHS you will find them here. For now, please consider being a volunteer and helping out in the many different ways the shelter and the animals need you.