Our Story
I started my career in animal welfare as a Rescue Coordinator at an animal shelter.
During the day, every ounce of my energy went into the work of saving lives and keeping operations running. Animal welfare doesn't pause, and neither did I. By the time the world finally went quiet, when everyone else was asleep, that was the only space left for me to focus on my other passion: building.
Living with my particular brand of ADHD meant I couldn't just switch off. I needed to tinker, to learn, to create systems and tools. What started as a late-night outlet—a way to channel restless energy—quickly became something more. The things I built in those hours weren't just experiments; they started making a real impact on my work, my colleagues, and most importantly, the animals we were fighting for.
Throughout my career, I could never find the templates I actually needed for my work. The few I did find were either hopelessly outdated or so overcomplicated they created more problems than they solved.
And hiring a contractor who knew nothing about animal welfare? That wasn't an option. I didn't have the time or energy to teach someone our world from scratch, and I couldn't afford to pay for that learning curve. There simply wasn't anything readily available that understood both the technology and the mission.
After some major life changes, I kept coming back to a dream that wouldn’t let me go: filling a massive gap in affordable technology resources for animal welfare organizations.
This is when Built at Midnight was born.
I decided to stop waiting for someone else to build what didn't exist. I had the skills, the experience, and most importantly, I understood the real needs behind the work. If I could build systems that made a difference at midnight for my own team, I could build them for others too. It was time to turn those late-night hours into something that could serve the entire animal welfare community.
That's what Built at Midnight represents: the relentless drive to turn obstacles into opportunities, to transform restless energy into solutions, and to create tools that empower people to do their best work—built by someone who's been in the trenches and knows exactly what animal welfare professionals need.
Our Story
What I Do
What I Do
I design systems for animal welfare organizations that need things to work in real life, not just look good in a demo.
After years inside shelters, rescues, and national organizations, I saw the same problem everywhere: teams doing heroic work with tools that were never designed for the chaos, urgency, and emotional weight of animal welfare. So I started building the systems I wish we’d had.
I create practical, accessible, and scalable tools that help organizations stay organized, reduce burnout, and make better decisions—without adding complexity or requiring a technical background.
Below is what that looks like in practice.
I build plug-and-play templates that organizations can use immediately—no consultants, no rebuilds, no “figure it out later.”
These are designed for:
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Airtable, Google Sheets, Notion, and Excel
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Real workflows, not theoretical ones
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Teams with high turnover, limited time, and big responsibilities
Examples include:
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Foster and adopter management
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Intake and outcomes tracking
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Volunteer programs and onboarding
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Grant administration and reporting
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Inventory, supplies, and lending programs
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Internal dashboards and operational tracking
Every template is structured, documented, and intentionally simple—because complexity is not a feature.
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I don’t just build tools—I think through how work actually flows.
That means:
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Mapping real-world processes before building anything
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Identifying friction points, bottlenecks, and failure risks
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Designing systems that support people instead of policing them
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Balancing structure with flexibility
The goal is always the same: make the right thing easier and the hard thing less exhausting.
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Good systems fail without good documentation. I write SOPs that people will actually read and use.
My documentation focuses on:
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Clear, plain-language instructions
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Accessibility for different learning styles
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Consistency across teams and locations
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Reducing reliance on “tribal knowledge”
This work turns processes into something sustainable—so organizations aren’t one resignation away from chaos.
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Accessibility isn’t an add-on—it’s foundational.
I design with:
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Neurodivergent users in mind
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Varying levels of tech comfort
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Volunteers, staff, and leadership all sharing systems
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Emotional fatigue and cognitive load as real constraints
If a system requires perfect focus, perfect memory, or perfect training to function, it’s already broken.
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Built at Midnight exists because animal welfare work doesn’t stop at 5 p.m.
It’s a space for:
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Thoughtfully built tools
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Honest conversations about operations
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Resources designed by someone who’s been in the trenches
Everything I create is shaped by lived experience, late nights, and the belief that people doing lifesaving work deserve systems that support them—not fight them.
Compassion Meets Compliance
My mission is to provide clear, practical, and compliant documentation that strengthens organizations, protects animals and people, and ensures policies translate into action.
Integrity and Compassion
We value integrity and compassion in all our endeavors, ensuring our work caters to the real needs of those in animal welfare.
I design systems that save lives.
My work lives at the intersection of animal welfare operations, accessibility, and clear thinking under pressure. I build tools, workflows, and documentation that help teams do their best work—especially in high-impact, resource-limited environments where clarity isn’t a luxury, it’s survival.
I specialize in turning messy, fragmented processes into systems people can actually use. From grant administration and volunteer engagement to onboarding, training, and internal documentation, I create scalable solutions that reduce friction and cognitive load. My approach blends technical writing, process design, and strategic consulting, always with a people-first mindset.
Built at Midnight is more than a name—it’s a reflection of how this work actually gets done. In animal welfare, the real work often happens after hours: late-night spreadsheets, emergency decisions, last-minute problem solving, and the quiet determination to make things better with whatever time and resources you have. Midnight is where urgency meets focus, and where meaningful systems are built when they’re needed most.
Living with ADHD has fundamentally shaped how I think about systems. I’m acutely aware of how unclear processes, inconsistent documentation, and bloated tools create unnecessary barriers—not because people aren’t capable, but because the systems weren’t designed with real human brains in mind. I’ve learned firsthand how easily good intentions can collapse under cognitive overload, especially in high-stress, mission-driven work.
Because of that, I design for clarity, predictability, and flexibility. I favor clean structure, plain language, and workflows that guide rather than overwhelm. I build systems that reduce decision fatigue, surface the right information at the right time, and don’t rely on memory, perfection, or constant vigilance to function well. Accessibility isn’t an add-on to my work—it’s the foundation.
I’ve led and supported programs at the Humane Society of Central Texas and Best Friends Animal Society, and I continue to stay grounded in grassroots work through volunteer support with Snip & Tip, a Texas-based TNR nonprofit. Whether I’m writing SOPs, designing a client portal, or untangling a workflow that’s grown too fast, my goal is the same: empower the people doing the work so they can focus on the animals who need them.
Currently based in Houston, Built at Midnight is where my operational background, technical skillset, and lived experience come together. It’s a platform built for mission-driven teams who need systems that are practical, sustainable, and designed to support the humans behind the mission.
Let’s build something that lasts.
Born from a passion for animal welfare, Built at Midnight is dedicated to making a difference.
Our journey began with a desire to simplify complex regulatory frameworks, helping ensure that all efforts in animal welfare are truly impactful.
Frequently asked questions
Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light.
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.
Sarah Williams, The Old Astronomer and His Pupil
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