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(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) - The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is
pleased to announce that after an extensive recruitment process, Sarah Aguilar has
been selected as the new County Animal Services Director. Aguilar brings a wealth of
experience in animal welfare and management and has actively led nationally-
recognized organizations in leadership development, innovative partnerships, and
community engagement.
Aguilar has been a key leader in various animal-serving organizations, most recently as
the Senior Director of Operations at Austin Pets Alive in Austin, Texas, an animal
rescue organization serving 12,000 pets annually. Previous to her role in Austin, Aguilar
was the National Foster Programs Manager at Greater Good Charities in Seattle,
Wash., and Deputy Director of the Pima Animal Care Center in Pima, Ariz.
“While the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic created significant hardships within the
animal welfare world and locally in Santa Barbara County, this period also provided us
with an opportunity to reassess, rebuild, and strengthen our programs and services,”
shared Deputy Director for Community Health Paige Batson. “We are excited that Sarah
will be leading Santa Barbara County Animal Services to a whole new level of achieving
best practices, providing quality services for our community animals, and fostering
strong partnerships with community stakeholders.”