Genae Bene is our resident “cat whisperer” and has a passion for helping with feline behavioral issues and facilitating the smooth transition of adult cats into their new homes. Genae works in Corporate Banking for TD Bank and uses her experience in finance to oversee the budget, fundraising, and spending of the rescue. Genae originally founded Pittie Party Rescue as a dog rescue for Pitbull/Bully breeds in 2015. In 2017, Genae realized that there was a greater need in New Jersey for cat rescue when she discovered an unmanaged colony of cats living in her apartment complex.

Angela Diekhaus is an animal welfare professional with a passion for shelter medicine and neonatal kitten health. She has a strong background in kitten and cat health, as well as removing barriers to adoption and making the joys of pet parenthood accessible to all. Currently, Angela is the Administrative Coordinator and Veterinary Technician for The Spay & Neuter Center of New Jersey and manages a relationship with TNR organizations across the state to support humane population control in the community. Angela oversees the daily operations of the entire organization, with a special interest in the physical health of our cats and the mental health of our volunteers and fosters. 

Hala works as a scientist for Bristol Myers Squibb's cell therapy division and is a passionate animal lover who uses her exceptional organizational skills to ensure that our rescue runs smoothly day in and day out. She started fostering for us during the COVID-19 lock down of 2020 and was immediately hooked. She now works tirelessly behind the scenes to create and maintain efficient processes for everything from paperwork and record-keeping to website maintenance. Although she loves her admin duties, her favorite job is still fostering kittens and she has currently fostered over 100 since she first joined the rescue!

Hilary became involved in the world of cats after adopting her first cat and volunteering at rescue in Kansas City where she eventually became the co-coordinator of their cat program. After moving to New Jersey she found our rescue and  quickly became more involved. She currently serves as our Executive Director where she coordinates our fosters, schedules medical care for our animals, and maintains the general inventory of our rescue . Hilary is especially interested in helping animals with medical issues,  working with semi-feral and under socialized cats, and animals with behavioral challenges. Hilary has her PhD in clinical psychology and works with children with developmental and multiple disabilities.

Michele joined us as a volunteer in 2021 when Pittie Party Rescue moved into our new location at the PetSmart in North Brunswick after seeing an Instagram ad looking for volunteers to socialize kittens. In addition to volunteering at PetSmart which she still does, Michele now processes applications for prospective adopters. Thanks to her strong organizational skills she is able to ensure that our application processing runs smoothly and in a timely manner. Outside of her rescue work Michele enjoys spending time with her three cats and family and is a certified group exercise instructor teaching out of her home, online and with Edison Recreation.

Kathleen joined Pittie Party Rescue in 2021 after a long career of leadership positions in public housing, social services for people with disabilities, and Medicare counseling for seniors. After retiring she began researching local volunteer opportunities she could put her skills to use. Luckily she found our PetSmart Adoption Center. Although she started as a volunteer, Kathleen quickly took on more responsibility. As our Volunteer Coordinator she is responsible for staffing the center, and training new volunteers. Although Kathleen can't have a cat due to her husbands allergies she still gets her "feline fix" from cuddling with our Adoption Center kitties.