Member Spotlight: Get to Know Stacy LeBaron

How to even begin to encapsulate Stacy LeBaron’s lifelong career as a tireless advocate for community cats? It all started in 1994, with a donation of one bag of cat food

Name & Title: Stacy LeBaron, Head Cat
Organization: Community Cats Central

The Association: Describe yourself in three words.
Stacy LeBaron: Passionate Feline Entrepreneur

The Association: Describe your organization in three words.
Stacy LeBaron: Accessible Feline Educator

The Association: How did you get started in animal welfare, and how did you land in the role you are today?
Stacy LeBaron: In 1994 I donated a bag of cat food and cat litter to a new local organization devoted to cats. I believed that my donation would last the organization at least a week. When I walked into this very small space (maybe 500 square feet), they had just taken in over 60 cats from a hoarding situation. The two folks who accepted my donation were extremely grateful, but I could tell they were exhausted and overwhelmed. It was an “aha!” moment for me. I knew that donation was used most likely that day.

I continued to donate, joined the board, became President and then Executive Director, and today, 30-plus years later, I continue to be part of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society (MRFRS). I have an entrepreneurial mindset, so when I needed step away from the day-to-day of running MRFRS, I started the Community Cats Podcast in 2016 with Kristen Petrie. The idea for the podcast came from Kristen and my son, Scott—who was 13 at the time—who both said that doing a podcast would be easy!

I believe in self-creating programs and organizations that can assist the various challenges that communities have with their cat population. So I am a self-made podcaster and educator.

The Association: Considering your career so far, what achievement are you most proud of?
Stacy LeBaron: Making the leap in 2008 to offer significant spay/neuter services for cats in a mobile unit (MRFRS’ Catmobile) was game-changing for cats—and for organizations in Massachusetts were able to see how impactful it is to help owned cats. It took a lot for a very small organization to make that commitment to add a high-quality/high-volume veterinary program to our non-profit. I like to think of our model as a bit of a spark to creating the movement for access to care—which has spay/neuter at the forefront of services.

The Association: What is your next goal or milestone you’re working toward, professionally or personally?
Stacy LeBaron: The Community Cats Podcast has grown tremendously over the last ten years. In 2026 we are making a commitment to being the educational hub for all things about Community Cats. Therefore, we are now calling ourselves Community Cats Central. We don’t want anyone out there who wants to help cats to feel stuck and alone. We are here and we can support their needs. Our goal is to focus on leadership and efficiency as key themes in 2026 as we continue to build out our educational programming.

As for my next personal goal, I would like to win a majority of the tennis matches I play on various teams in Vermont.

The Association: Words to live by?
Stacy LeBaron: Turn your passion for cats into action.

In January, we shared Community Cats Central’s call for their annual survey of colony caretakers. You can find the results of that survey here, and be on the lookout for a follow-up survey in July.