The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control has announced the appointment of Christine Quesada as the department’s new volunteer programs director.

A Miami native, Quesada grew up in a household that always welcomed stray, which is when she discovered her love for animals. After working in the hotel and finance industry for many years, she started volunteering on her days off in various animal related fields to pursue her life-long passion of working with animals.

In 2014, Christine moved to California to work for Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization with programs in the Los Angeles area. She managed adoptions and outreach programs and then moved on to oversee the organization’s volunteer program.

The volunteer programs director is a critical role for the department, overseeing recruitment, training, onboarding and recognition of close to 1,000 volunteers and foster caretakers for seven animal care centers.

Volunteers provide essential support at the animal care centers by caring for sheltered pets, providing enrichment, grooming and socialization. They assist the veterinary medical teams in the spay/neuter clinic, with vaccine clinics and at outreach events held in the community. Volunteers take photos, post on social media, attend offsite adoption events and foster pets in need of extra care and attention. They are also an integral support for emergency evacuation and sheltering .

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, DACC shifted to virtual training and increased remote opportunities for volunteers. The foster program expanded to foster hundreds of adult dogs and cats in addition to underage kittens and puppies.

For information, visit animalcare.lacounty.gov.