HAWA, the Haywood Animal Welfare Association, has named Eileen Bouressa its first executive director.

She will serve as general manager and chief administrator of the organization.

“We’re delighted to have Eileen on board with us,” said HAWA president Marilyn Friedkin. “She brings us the administrative and fund-raising skills we need to continue the growth of our programs.”

The new executive director has been a regional supervisor for a group of restaurants, press secretary for a Massachusetts congressman, production manager and editor for the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, and a public relations consultant.

With her HAWA appointment Bouressa said she is returning to her first love, animal welfare. She has served as a volunteer with the Western North Carolina Nature Center and is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Bouressa is pleased to have joined with such an established and successful animal welfare organization. “I have worked with several animal groups that have a salaried staff and am truly impressed by all that HAWA has accomplished with its volunteer-only members. I am confident that we will build on all their hard work to continue to improve the quality of life for all animals in Haywood County.”

The association conducts an ongoing spay/neuter program, hosts animal adoption days, monitors feral cat colonies and offers pet-care education programs. A HAWA volunteer grooms animals at the county shelter to make them more adoptable and volunteers also provide temporary homes for adoptable animals. In addition, HAWA contributes funds to the county so the shelter can offer extended adoption hours. Funds for the group’s activities come from individual donations, grants, and income from Animalia, the HAWA resale shop in Waynesville Plaza.

Bouressa is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. She and her husband have lived in Western North Carolina for seven years. They are expecting their first child in August.

 

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