Meet The Team
Holly Carey
Executive Director​
​Holly Carey joined the Cat Haven team as the Executive Director on November 1, 2021. Holly brings to Cat Haven more than 30 years of experience as a registered veterinary technician from both the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine and private veterinary practice in Baton Rouge. Although she has worked with many species of animals in her career, Holly has a special passion for cats and has three of her own, along with two dogs, a leopard gecko, and two teenage boys. Holly is an active member of the animal welfare community, having previously served other local non-profits on the board of directors and in a volunteer capacity. Holly enjoys live music, relaxing at the beach, and time with her two sons and their menagerie of pets.
Briana Tumminello
Operations Director
Briana is a Louisiana native who cares deeply for animals. She recently graduated from LSU with a degree in Animal Science. She has her own rescue cat at home named Stella. Briana came to Cat Haven to learn more about felines and to advocate for those who don't have an owner to advocate for them! Briana started working for Cat Haven as an Animal Care Specialist and was then promoted to Shelter Manager. Briana will also be taking over as Volunteer Coordinator.
Kyrstin Lebouef
Adoption Manager
Kyrstin LeBouef is from Lafourche Parish and moved here to Baton Rouge in 2023. She has over five years of experience working in animal care, both canine and feline, but has a special place in her heart for cats. She is very passionate about neonatal kitten care, spay/neuter, and cat behavior. Kyrstin has three cats and two dogs at home and loves to spend time with her animals. In Kyrstin’s spare time, she enjoys clay sculpting, photography, and collecting trinkets/oddities!
Abby Santini
Administrative Assistant
Abby is originally from South Carolina, where she received her bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of South Carolina. In 2012 she moved to Louisiana and has made a life here with her 2 young kids and dog and cat. She has worked in the animal rescue field for over 15 years, 4 of those years being with Cat Haven as the Operations Director previously and another 3 years with Project Purr. She even helped start up the only feline-only veterinary hospital here in Baton Rouge, Cat Care Center. In her spare time she enjoys being outdoors in nature, live music and eating good food.
Maddie Druen
Shelter Manager
Maddie has been promoted to Shelter Manager after having started at Cat Haven as an Animal Control Specialist. She has a degree from LSU in Wildlife Ecology and came to Cat Haven to further her experience in working with animals. Maddie has a cat named Sammy who she rescued from a local shelter. Outside of school and work, Maddie enjoys being with animals the most! She also loved being outside and spending time with friends. She hopes that she can make a difference in animal's lives, especially the sweet cats she works with at Cat Haven.
Samantha Couvillon
Animal Care Specialist
Samantha is a proud cat mom to two quirky cats: Fred A boy and Juicebox. Before moving to Baton Rouge, she lived in her home town of Metairie, LA. Samantha has spent the past two years working with animals, building her experience in pet care. Driven by her passion and love for animals, she dreams of opening an animal rescue shelter one day.
HARRIETT POOLER
Director of Marketing and Development
Harriett joined Cat Haven in January 2025 with 22+ years of professional fundraising experience. She has worked for LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, the Nature Conservancy and Audubon Louisiana in addition to nonprofit consulting. Harriett is a lifelong nature and animal lover, having had a menagerie of cats and other furry, scaled, and finned pets in her life. She feels strongly about stopping animal overpopulation and loves Cat Haven’s work of promoting spay/neuter and finding homes for these spunky kittens and cats.
Caroline Carter
Animal Care Specialist
Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Caroline moved to Baton Rouge last year to study Wildlife Ecology at LSU and is in her sophomore year. Caroline has a huge love of animals and hopes to go to vet school when she finishes her undergrad studies. She has three cats back home in Philly: Luna, Stewie, and Sushi.
Sophia Robledo
Animal Care Specialist
Originally from New Orleans, Sophia moved to Baton Rouge last year to pursue her passion for animal care. She is currently a sophomore at LSU studying Animal Science and is also working toward her Associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology at Baton Rouge Community College. Her dream is to one day open her own veterinary practice. Sophia’s love for animals began at a young age and has only grown stronger over the years. She has always been a proud cat owner and currently has four cats back home with her family named Thor, T’Challa, Sharpay, and Chloe. Although she’s a devoted cat lover, she also adores dogs and hopes to have one of her own someday!
Laken Culpepper
Animal Care Specialist
Laken is a student at LSU studying animal science. Before moving to Baton Rouge, she lived on her family farm. This farm sparked her love for animals, and she has been chasing her dream of becoming a veterinarian as long as she can remember. Laken loves working with cats and wishes she could take them all home.
Ahmari Marks
Digital Marketing Intern
Ahmari Marks is originally from Houston, Texas, and is currently a Marketing major with a concentration in Digital Marketing at Louisiana State University. With a strong passion for working with nonprofit organizations, she is honored to serve as Cat Haven’s marketing intern, where she combines her marketing skills with a mission-driven organization making a meaningful impact.
​
"Before moving to Baton Rouge a few years ago, I never thought I’d become a cat person but after living with several cats and adopting my own, I’ve been completely won over. Now, I get to combine my passion for marketing with plenty of time spent around adorable cats, proudly embracing life as an ailurophile." -Ahmari Marks
