In response to a growing need for animal welfare services, Clatsop Animal Assistance has hired its first-ever executive director. Lily Tollefsen, who stepped into the position earlier this month, said she is up to the challenge.

Tollefsen, originally from New York, spent most of her childhood going from ‘coast to coast’; she spent time in Bend before moving to Portland and opening a restaurant called ‘Radar’ in 2012 with her husband, Jonathan Berube.

After years of serving the community with acclaimed Scandinavian-inspired fare, the couple closed the restaurant in 2022 and moved to Astoria, where Tollefsen spotted a poster for the Clatsop County Animal Shelter in the window of Peter Pan Market & Deli.

“We were kind of new to Astoria and the area, and I thought, ‘OK, cool, I’ll walk dogs and meet some people,’” she said. “So that’s what got me — I just saw one of the posters and then started volunteering in 2023. I’ve been here ever since. It just loops you in.”

Soon after Tollefsen joined the volunteer team, the board of the Clatsop Animal Assistance — the nonprofit that works within the shelter — began to see the need for more strategic leadership. The organization has seen an increase in animals requiring assistance, coupled with the threat of budget cuts to the county-run shelter.

The nine-person Clatsop Animal Assistance board formed a hiring committee and began a search for an executive director. The hiring process was comprehensive and yielded many applicants from all over the country.

Tollefsen’s status as an involved volunteer coupled with experience in running a business and a nonprofit — she was president of Mississippi Avenue Business Association in Portland — made her an ideal candidate. She began working as the executive director on May 5.

“All of that helped prepare me for being here, but the most important thing is, I just really love the pups and the cats,” she said. “Just being here … It’s super purposeful, super meaningful. When you come in and you volunteer, even if it’s for, like, an hour or something, it makes such a big difference to that one cat or that one dog.”

Tollefsen will continue to volunteer as a dog walker alongside her role as an executive director. She said volunteering is the best part of her week and adopted her dog, Zeus, from the shelter after meeting him during a shift.

While the need for an executive director speaks to an increase in demand for services, there has also been an increase in people wanting to help the shelter, either through volunteering or donating.

“It really is a miracle, what CAA has done in the past 25 years,” she said. “They’ve operated solely on volunteer power. Noelle (McClure), our volunteer coordinator, was the first employee. So it’s just a miracle that that many people can get this stuff done voluntarily.”

Tollefsen said that Justin Dersham, the county’s animal control supervisor, is anticipating that the shelter will see a sharp increase in animals this year — around 100 more than it did in 2024. That means more people must come aboard to avoid overcrowding and help ensure veterinary care for the animals boarded at the shelter.

“In order to really effectively get things done, it’s hard not to have a point person to say, ‘This is my responsibility. I’m going to take this on,’” Tollefsen said. “So I think CAA was really smart in making that decision.”

Some of Tollefsen’s responsibilities as executive director are fundraising, maintaining and strengthening donor relations, grant writing and speaking with local municipalities to try and obtain state and federal funding.

“Any time a pet goes to the vet, if it’s not for a routine vaccine, CAA pays for that,” she said. “So every time you see a cat that needs to go to the vet, or we had a dog that needed hip surgery, that all comes out of CAA’s funds, which is remarkable, but also extremely expensive.”

Another aspect of Tollefsen’s job is advocacy; she needs to make sure that the community knows that the shelter is there so she can drive interest and collaborate with other local organizations. She also serves as a liaison between shelter volunteers and the county, and ensures that CAA is always within nonprofit regulations.

“So that’s the business side of it,” she said. “And then just the real stuff that I enjoyed the most is just, how do we serve our mission? And CAA’s mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome Clatsop County pets … that’s why we’re all here.

“I feel like the best version of myself when I’m with animals. There’s like an unspoken kind of connection — they’re just pure and good and that makes me a better person … I also think that they’re a population that needs someone to stand up for them, and that’s why I like being here.”

Tollefsen said she looks forward to being a part of such a long-standing organization, and hopes to honor its legacy along with the good work volunteers continue to put in. She’s also looking forward to helping provide a good experience for the animals while they’re in the shelter and finding their forever homes.

“Please adopt from your local shelter,” she said. “I think a lot of times people think shelter dogs might be damaged in some way, but really, every dog loves with their whole heart. It doesn’t matter where they come from.”