Audra Houghton

Director, Operations, Animal Rescue Team, The Humane Society of the United States

Audra began working with animals more than 25 years ago, during which time she has filled several roles from veterinary technician to dog trainer and K9 handler. In early 2008, she entered the animal welfare field and found her true passion. She served as both a Cruelty Investigator and a supervisor of a highly effective Animal Crimes Investigations unit in San Antonio, Texas where she gained extensive experience investigating misdemeanor and felony criminal cases involving a wide range of species and with overseeing and executing large scale seizures. In 2016, she became the Director of Operations at the Animal Care and Control Team’s shelter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and served as their interim Executive Director in 2018. She joined HSUS in December of 2018 as the Director of the Operations arm of the Animal Rescue Team, where she oversees the dedicated, hardworking team responsible for field response and readiness, sheltering, and volunteer programs and deploys around the country to teach investigations courses and aid partners in large scale response.