Tammy Jo Hallman, municipal & shelter support specialist

Tammy Jo Hallman is a municipal and shelter support specialist for Best Friends Animal Society. As part of Best Friends’ work to offer customized, strategic support and training for animal sheltering agencies around the country, Tammy Jo provides assessments of shelter operations and helps design and implement training programs proven to increase lifesaving for individual organizations and the communities they serve.

Before joining Best Friends in 2018, Tammy Jo worked at shelters across the Southeast, filling a variety of roles in shelter operations, medical support, program development and field services. She is also a member of the field investigations and response team for the ASPCA and a credentialed responder with the Disaster Animal Response Team in Nashville, Tennessee.

Throughout her career in animal welfare, Tammy Jo has worked to foster a culture of understanding for both animals and people, with the goal of creating healthier, happier communities for everyone. She’s also affectionately known by many former colleagues as the “Martha Stewart of animal shelter ideas” because she can transform garbage bags and a roll of duct tape into just about anything you might need on the job.

Tammy Jo double-majored in English and computer science at the University of Alabama and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her two special-needs cats, Eddiepuss Rex and Ninja Tickles, and a senior dog named Spenciepants who is allergic to just about everything. When not out assisting emergency response teams or helping shelters save more animals, Tammy Jo can be found binge-watching Star Trek episodes and celebrating Halloween year-round.