With over two decades of experience in animal welfare, Darlene Duggan now leads Anti-Cruelty as President. Throughout her tenure with the organization, Darlene has held various key roles, most recently as the Vice President of Operations, where she oversaw the animal care, clinic, and field service divisions. Her career began as a shelter manager, where she gained extensive experience working with volunteers, managing and analyzing data, and guiding operations.
Before rejoining Anti-Cruelty in 2020, she expanded her knowledge of the field by learning animal sheltering from within a municipal shelter system and served as an Enterprise-level software consultant on the corporate side of animal welfare.
Darlene leads Anti-Cruelty with a strong emphasis on essential Open Door sheltering functions such as animal admissions, adoptions, and spay/neuter services. Her leadership, however, extends beyond these fundamental areas. She is dedicated to fostering innovation and adaptive thinking, ensuring the organization excels in traditional sheltering operations and services but also explores new and creative ways to improve animal welfare.
Darlene’s vision for Anti-Cruelty extends far beyond the physical boundaries of the River North shelter. She is committed to embedding the principles of BEST Care into the community, ensuring that animals and people have access to services and programming wherever they are. By building strong community partnerships and leveraging innovative approaches, she aims to create a holistic model of care that addresses the needs of both animals and humans, building a humane Chicago.
Darlene also serves on the Board of Directors as Treasurer for the Illinois Animal Welfare Association as well as a few other local nonprofits. Darlene received her undergraduate degree from The University of Chicago and holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her first experience with Anti-Cruelty dates to the third grade when she and her family happily adopted their first dog.