Española Humane seeks new leader as longtime director prepares to retire

May 22—Española Humane has launched a search for a new executive director of its animal shelter and growing veterinary clinic.

Executive Director Bridget Lindquist has announced she will retire later this year after 19 years in the position.

Lindquist oversaw tremendous growth of the open-admissions animal shelter, Española Humane board President Lea Ann Knight said.

"She has taken it from this very small, probably volunteer-led operation to help the neediest animals in Northern New Mexico to a really great, professional, caring, well-organized and financially secure nonprofit that's been able to really scale up," Knight said. "An unbelievable number of animals come through that shelter every year."

In 2023, the nonprofit received over 4,300 animals, an average of more than 11 per day. In 2025, the nonprofit will have a $5 million annual budget, a staff of 71 and a new spay and neuter clinic, which will more than double the shelter's capacity for animal medical services, according to a job description for the executive director position.

The board recently has hired the East Coast-based executive search firm LeaderFit to help with a search for Lindquist's successor, and a committee hopes to choose a new executive director in early September.

The compensation for the position will range from $165,000 to $175,000 with "generous benefits," the job posting stated.

"We couldn't ask for a better executive director," Knight said of Lindquist. "We're intimidated, you know, a little bit, by her leaving because we've got to find somebody who can really fill her shoes, but I'm sure we will be able to."

Lindquist is leaving "in a period of strength for Española Humane," Knight added. "She's done everything she set out to do, [and] she's got an incredible senior management team, so I think she is walking away from a great, strong organization and handing it to the next generation of leadership."

In a letter to supporters, Lindquist attributed the shelter's success to "the collective efforts of an extraordinary team and generous community."

She has been especially proud of the "ingenuity" of the shelter's programs, an expanding base of volunteers who foster 52% of the shelter's animals before adoption, and the shelter's "strategic focus on spay/neuter, which culminated last year with a record-breaking 7,330 free surgeries," she wrote.

"I look forward to a high-impact 2024 and a bright future for Española Humane," she added.