Julie Castle — CEO

Find me on Instagram and X at @bfas_julie. I started in the proverbial mail room of Best Friends in 1996 as employee #17, doing whatever needed to be done on a given day — be that cleaning kennels, tabling outside of grocery stores, or laying irrigation lines. As I progressed, I had the opportunity to lead Best Friends’ community programs and services division, launching NKLA (no-kill Los Angeles) and helping to launch NKUT (no-kill Utah). From there, I moved into the role of the marketing, communications, and development leader, where the team and I grew Best Friends’ fundraising by nearly 50 percent to reach an all-time revenue high of $137 million annually. I'm a staunch believer in the importance of culture and innovation within a workplace and am proud to be the CEO of an organization that is full of incredibly caring, compassionate, driven, and focused people. I want to lead every member of the Best Friends staff to find their “grand passion,” to create a better world, and to make every shelter and every community no-kill.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in the nonprofit sector with a focus on community development and fundraising.

Location: Kanab, Utah, United States

Experience: 27 yrs 6 mos