Meet Torre Chisholm | Executive Director, Friends of Pima Animal Care Center

We had the good fortune of connecting with Torre Chisholm and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Torre, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Over the course of my professional career, I’ve focused on a few key mantras which I feel have contributed greatly to any success I’ve had. Applying these to my workplace has also generated success for the brand. – Leave things better than you found them: Always strive to improve the organization and its functions with a goal on longevity. I always ask myself if the programs we’re creating will be here in 10, 20 years continuing to provide benefit.
– Honor tradition, but with a twist: Tradition can sound old fashion, but it does have social value. I always seek to honor my organization’s tradition and history but give it a twist to be relevant in the modern environment.
– Always be creative: I’m not an artist, by any stretch, but there are lots of ways to be creative within the workplace. Find them and create.
– If not us, then who?: A simple everyday call-to-action. If we don’t take on these responsibilities, who will.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I spent most of my career working in Intercollegiate Athletics. But a mix of life events took me on another path, and I’ve never been happier. In my role with Friends of Pima Animal Care Center, I get to help improve the world for our four-legged animal companions. Ok, I only help to improve Pima County for them, but as they say, ‘Think Global, Act Locally.’ Our organization has had many accomplishments over the years, all of which help save animal lives, create new families, or keep animals and their families together. That said, I’m proudest of our most crazy project, probably because it is so crazy. It’s the Tucson Subaru Pets of Pima Parade, which we announced in the middle of the pandemic, but somehow grew into a huge, televised event. By ‘somehow’, I mean through hard work. I used one other mantra on this project: “If you talk about something enough and with enough passion, it will become real.” Passion, hard work, and persistence can make crazy things possible.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Arizona is all about cool day trips. Out of Tucson, Mt. Lemmon, Tombstone, Sonita, Bisbee. Out of Phoenix, Sedona, Lake Pleasant, Globe. You can experience a tremendous mix of scenery, culture and personalities with short drives through the Arizona desert.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I dedicate the Shoutout to all the mentors who have taken the time to help me. There are too many to list, but the list starts with dear old mom.

Website: www.friendsofpacc.org

Instagram: friendsofpacc

Facebook: friends of pima animal care center

Image Credits
Michael Kloth, Sandra Clark