Leslie Granger has been President and CEO of Bideawee since 2017. Leslie has a long history with Bideawee, beginning in 2010 as the Vice President of Development.
Under Leslie’s leadership, Bideawee expanded partnerships with shelters across the country to transport high-risk animals to the organization and nearly doubled Bideawee’s adoption numbers.
In 2019, she presided over the decision to assume responsibility for the operations and management of the New York City Feral Cat Initiative, a seminal program that addresses the systemic problem of cat overpopulation by providing education, resources and support to the individuals working to humanely reduce the population of community cats in NYC.
In 2020 just prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, adoptions and fundraising were soaring to record levels under her leadership. With the start of COVID-19, Leslie saw the organization through unprecedented times without ever closing our doors to animals in need and even expanding our programs to serve the needs of people and their animals through our Community Initiative programming.
Additionally, Leslie saw this time as an opportunity to move the organization into the next phase of growth and successfully purchased and constructed the organization’s new state-of-the-art adoption center and outdoor dog enrichment space in the heart of the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.
Leslie’s professional tenure also includes the role of director of development for ACDS and the senior director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving for North Shore Animal League.
She currently serves on the board of the New York State Animal Protection Federation, which employs legislative and policy initiatives to safeguard the well-being of all animal companions.
Leslie received her CAWA (Certified Animal Welfare Administration) certification from the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement in 2020 and was the first recipient of the prestigious von Liebig Prize for leadership and service in animal welfare.
A lifelong animal lover, Leslie shares her Long Island home her Bideawee pup Aja, two Bideawee kitties, Max and Hairy, and her husband (her only non-Bideawee rescue).
