OUR BOARD
Cruces Cool Cats is made up of volunteers. There are no paid staff.
Selina Cardoza-Wainer
Founder and Director
For many years, my dream has been to operate a cat rescue. And here we are! Cruces Cool Cats is up and running to help as many homeless cats as we can! I am an animal lover with 4 cats, 5 dogs, 5 large fish tanks, and 1 turtle of my own. I cannot remember a time without an animal in my life.
Cassidy Zehnder
Vice President
I love animals, both domestic and wild, and am really passionate about CCC's mission. I moved to Las Cruces in the summer of 2023 and inherited about 15 community cats with the property. I also have 8 cats and a dog of my own- Zeni, Sparky, Wybie, Mango, Twilight, Bambi, Pascal, Cheez It, and Hazel. I also foster for CCC. I work for a national nonprofit called Project Coyote.
Bob Raynor
General Member
I started out as a volunteer with my wife Debbie in the Spring of 2024. We had recent moved from Deming, NM where we had a community cat named Mocha we loved dearly. She unfortunately passed away, and we will always remember her. I love animals and helping the community.
Jessica Chavez-Molina
General Member
I was born & raised in Las Cruces, having raised 4 children and saved dozens of dogs and cats. I began volunteering in Summer of 2024. My meaning to life is helping as many animals as I can. My family and I take in senior, blind, and hospice dogs. We also inherited a colony of 14 cats when we moved 2 years ago! Pictured is handsome boy, Mo.
OUR VOLUNTEERS
Our volunteers are crucial to pursuing our mission. They assist with important programming and tasks like TNR, events, cleaning, socializing, photography, and more. Click here to learn more about volunteering and other ways to help.
Clarissa Skinner-Ramp
Clarissa was born and raised in NM, having spent the past 18 years in Las Cruces. She currently has her older cat BB, who she loves even when he's grumpy. She is excited to be at CCC as a caretaker! She enjoys learning the unique personalities of all the cats. She is a very dedicated volunteer!
Julian & Sunny
These sweet doggies live at the sanctuary and help socialize the cats. Julian is our OG dog. Sunny came to us in 2024 and has become such a confident, fun-loving dog.
Emmalyn Schwartz
Emmalyn is a rockstar volunteer! She joined CCC in February of 2025 after relocating from Colorado and loves helping with adoptions and litter boxes. She loves Disney, musicals, and animals (especially cats!).
Debbie & Bob Raynor
Debbie and Bob originally hail from Southern New Jersey, but have called New Mexico 'home' for over 20 years. During the pandemic, they were adopted by a dilute calico community cat named Mocha. Due to her clipped ear, they learned of the TNR Program, and heartily support it. Sadly, 2 years after adopting them, Mocha was found to have feline leukemia and passed away. Bob has joined the CCC board.
Destiny Rios
Destiny is from Las Cruces and she loves volunteering because she is friends with the director, Selina, and has a passion for cats! She has two of her own: Pixie & Flynn. She adopted Pixie from CCC in 2023. She helps with laundry and adoption events!
Hollie & Shawn Zehnder
Hollie, Shawn and their family moved to New Mexico in 2023. They love animals, especially cats. Hollie works in healthcare and Shawn works in IT. Their daughter Cassidy is on the board of CCC, and they enjoy helping whenever they can!
Katy Remacle
Katy has 2 cats of her own- pictured is Nami! She has loved animals her whole life. Katy loves what CCC is doing. Being able to help our community by volunteering is such a cool experience for her!
Mia Swaney
Born and (mostly) raised in Las Cruces, Mia cares deeply for her community and has a love for kitties. Her mom is NICU nurse, and she showed Mia how to care for newborn kittens throughout her childhood. She has had the pleasure of rescuing quite a few throughout her life. She has one cat, Romeo, he’s 3. Mia is currently an NMSU Marketing Student, minoring in Hotel Restaurant Management. She's excited to socialize with the cats, as well as the volunteers, and help out as much as she can!
Constance Duquette
Constance was born and raised in New Mexico. She recently moved to Las Cruces to go to school at NMSU to become a vet! She has had many pets in her childhood, and currently has 2 cats. She has always connected with animals and volunteering to help them out is something she loves!
Raquel Torres
Raquel is a cat lover and has her own crochet business! Having grown up learning to care about animals, she loves learning about the cats' different personalities. She started her crochet business because it allows her to bring joy to others and express her creativity.
Josh Espinoza
Josh was born and raised in El Paso, TX. Josh loves volunteering with animals and for other initiatives, like trash clean up with Sun City Pickers. He enjoys playing music, riding his motorcycle, being in nature, going on road trips, and trying new food. He is taking classes at EPCC.