The executive director of the Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS), Nancy S. Baglietto, announced on March 13 that she is leaving Alameda. She has resigned and accepted a position as the executive director at Hospitality House, an emergency homeless shelter in Grass Valley, Calif. Her last day at FAAS will be next Friday, March 24. She will begin work in Nevada City on Saturday, April 1. 

Baglietto joined FAAS as executive director in February 2015. Her departure comes in the midst of negotiations with the city over the organization’s future funding. 

Terms of an agreement between the city and FAAS remain fluid. In the past the city has offered to increase both the shelter’s budget and direct funding. In addition, the city has presented the shelter terms that include providing the money for improvements to the shelter. The improvements include work on the shelter’s kitchen, roof and heating system, taking over and paying for payroll services and helping fund new hires from Alameda Point Collaborative. The city told FAAS that it could continue using the city’s facility at no cost. 

For its part, FAAS has asked the city for $1,951,599, an additional $1.1 million each year. FAAS told the city that it needs to hire four more people to operate the shelter. This doubles the number of people who have run the shelter in the past. FAAS has also put increased staff salaries on the table.  

FAAS’ board of directors praised Baglietto’s accomplishments.  “Nancy has been a superlative executive director in every sense of the word,” said board president Deb Knowles. “Under her leadership, FAAS had many successes and has been recognized by the community as a leader in animal welfare.”

John L. Lipp will resign from the board of directors and serve as FAAS’ acting director beginning Monday, March 27. He is the executive director at Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), an organization that advocates for abused and neglected children. Lipp has served as a board member and board president for the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. He was also president and CEO of Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) in San Francisco from 2004 to 2011.

Lipp was a faculty member in San Jose State University’s Continuing Education Program in Nonprofit Management for more than 10 years. He also was an instructor for CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in San Francisco.