Our Founder and President, Denise Bitz, has announced her resignation from Brother Wolf, effective in early February. This planned, mutual decision between the Board and Bitz will allow her to pursue her passion in vegan advocacy, while ensuring the stability and longevity of the organization through the appointment of a new Executive Director.

“I’m so grateful for the community support we’ve received over the past 12 years, which has helped Brother Wolf to grow into the incredible resource it is today for the animals,” says Bitz. “When I cashed in my savings to start this organization, I never imagined it would become such a lifesaving powerhouse. I know Brother Wolf will continue to strengthen its No-Kill mission and save thousands of lives each year. I will be moving on to invest my time and energy into being an animal rights and environmental activist, two causes I’ve become very passionate about. It has always been in my heart to fight for those who need me most and knowing that animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of climate change has motivated me to plug into these two social justice causes with great urgency.”

Bitz founded Brother Wolf in 2007 in response to the amount of dogs and cats being euthanized in the community. Since then, Brother Wolf has grown into the largest No-Kill organization in North Carolina. Through adoptions, behavior training, robust volunteer and foster networks, pet retention programs, and disaster relief work, we now positively impacts the lives of more than 6,000 animals annually.

With Bitz’s full support, Brother Wolf’s Board of Directors have hired a new Executive Director, Leah Craig Fieser who will step into the position at the end of January. Fieser brings extensive and diverse experience in the nonprofit sector, including her previous position as Development Director at the Friends of the Western North Carolina Nature Center as well as the former Event Director at Brother Wolf. Fieser’s nonprofit career also includes impactful work at Eliada Homes, Catskill Animal Sanctuary, and The Children’s Museum in Wilmington. She holds a B.A. in Communications with a minor in Nonprofit Studies and Animal Science from NC State.

“Denise has built a wonderful foundation for Brother Wolf,” said Dustin Rhodes, Brother Wolf board member. We’re excited to now welcome in Leah Craig who will lead us in our next stage of growth as we strengthen the organization’s core mission of building No-Kill communities.”

Bitz and Fieser will be working closely together over the next few weeks to ensure a seamless transition.