Kalene Sattler, Volunteer Manager
Before moving to the small thriving metropolis of Kanab, Kalene was living the "big city" life. She spent many years in Portland, and in Washington State working as a retail manager, or in some other aspect of customer service. She says she worked way too much and got too caught up in the fast-paced and, all too often, stressful lifestyle. So when the opportunity presented itself for her family to relocate to Kanab, they jumped at the chance. Living in a small town in a beautiful area of Utah was a "no-brainer" and working with the animals was just an added bonus.
Kalene has been at Best Friends since September 2005. After working with the Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts for a while, she was offered a position as an animal help specialist in the Animal Help Department. She worked in that department for 10 months and then was offered the job of volunteer manager for the sanctuary. Not only does Kalene love animals, but she also loves people and working with them. The excitement, pure joy, amazement and awe that she sees in Best Friends volunteers is something she has the pleasure of experiencing every day. There is no other place she would rather be.
As the volunteer manager for the sanctuary, Kalene meets with all the volunteers (more than 12,000 annually) who come to the sanctuary to give their time and love to the animals. It is Kalene's job to orient them to the Best Friends volunteer experience and to make sure that they are enjoying themselves.
When she is not happily greeting volunteers, Kalene spends her time in the great outdoors (running, walking, hiking) or at the local fitness center, hanging out with friends or just "chillin' out" at home.
