From DREAMS to Reality: How Collaboration Transformed Community Cat Care in the Berkshires

Discover how Berkshire Animal DREAMS, a grassroots TNR group, joined forces with Berkshire Humane Society to expand resources, improve outcomes, and create lasting impact for community cats. This collaboration story highlights how partnership can drive growth and sustainability.

Speaker: Stacey Carver is the Volunteer Manager of the Berkshire Humane Society’s Community Cat Program. Her work focuses on community cats and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), helping to reduce overpopulation and improve the lives of free-roaming cats across Berkshire County. Stacey began her animal welfare journey in 2013 with Berkshire Animal DREAMS, a standalone TNR organization. Through collaboration and dedication, that organization later merged with Berkshire Humane Society, a long-standing and well-established humane organization. Today, Stacey continues to combine her professional background as a businesswoman with her passion for animal welfare, building strong community partnerships and ensuring that both cats and caregivers receive the support they need.

Speakers: Cheryl Traversi is the Vice President of Animal Welfare at Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL). Formerly an entrepreneur, she joined ARL in 2006 and began her career in animal welfare in veterinary program operations. Over the years, utilizing her business experience and strategic vision, she has led the implementation of new initiatives, evaluated operational effectiveness of existing programs, and supported her strong leadership team to achieve successful outcomes to help animals and the people who care for them. She oversees animal care (including 3 adoption centers), community initiatives, humane law enforcement, volunteer, humane education, and dog training programs. She shares her home with an ARL alum, a dog named Ollie.

Samantha Fincke, Director of Community Operations at Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL), oversees programs that support people and animals within their own communities, including the Community Cat program. Sam began her animal welfare career in 2007 as a veterinary assistant at a high volume spay neuter clinic in New Jersey and worked in a variety of veterinary and animal shelter settings before joining ARL. She holds a Master’s in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University. Sam shares her home with 3 Community Cats alumni along with the rest of her human and animal family.

You’re Not Alone: Facing the Surge in Cat Populations Together

After years of relative stability in cat numbers, Lowell Humane Society is seeing a sharp increase in stray and outdoor cats, more surrender requests, and greater medical and behavioral needs among the cats entering care. In this session, Crystal Arnott will share Lowell’s current challenges—not to spotlight them in isolation, but to emphasize that many organizations are facing similar struggles. From population spikes to resource strain, she will explore the realities of today’s cat crisis and the small but meaningful steps being taken to respond. At the heart of this work is the importance of trust—trusting community members to be part of the solution, and trusting each other as colleagues in the field to share openly, learn collectively, and move forward together.  

Speaker: Crystal Arnott serves as the Executive Director of the Lowell Humane Society, where she oversees programs that provide compassionate care to thousands of animals each year while building stronger connections between pets and the community. With more than a decade of hands-on experience in animal welfare, she has developed expertise in shelter operations, volunteer engagement, and community cat management. Beyond her work in Lowell, Crystal serves on the Board of Directors for the New England Federation of Humane Societies, contributing to regional collaboration and professional development across the field. She is passionate about transparency in sharing both the challenges and successes of sheltering, believing that collective learning and collaboration are essential to improving outcomes for animals and the people who love them. When she's not at the shelter, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and four children where she resides in Southern, NH.