(Isa)Bella Paniagua-Novak

Isa Bella Paniagua-Novak has a strong background in animal welfare and veterinary medicine, having worked in the field since 2013. In that year, they began as an Assistant Manager at KC Pet Project Zona Rosa Retail & Adoption Center, providing outstanding customer service, managing and supervising customer service and animal care staff, communicating with the CEO and Director of Operations, counseling potential adopters, using online animal shelter management software, creating reports for inventory purposes, and performing general clerical duties. (Isa)Bella also administered basic care for cats and dogs, monitored pets for health and behavioral changes, performed dog to dog interactions, educated adopters/public on animal care, and performed standard cleaning procedures.

In 2014, Paniagua-Novak took on the roles of Adoptions Advisor and Animal Care Supervisor at Great Plains SPCA. In this role, they greeted and directed customers entering the facility, provided excellent customer service, demonstrated strong computer and telephone skills, used basic office equipment, processed monetary transactions, promoted retail sales, and used online database for animal shelter management. (Isa)Bella also administered DAPPV and FVRCP boosters, preventatives, and microchips as needed, assisted with canine and feline animal care (feeding, medications), educated adopters on topics such as preventative care, proper pet introductions, and basic behavior, provided humane education, and used PetPoint animal shelter management software.

In 2015, Paniagua-Novak was Adoptions & Retail Manager at Great Plains SPCA, responsible for managing a team of adoption counselors and retail center at the campus in Merriam, KS. (Isa)Bella was responsible for all interviewing, hiring, firing, approving timesheets, and setting sales goals for each adoption counselor, as well as maintaining inventory, merchandising, and pricing retail. Additionally, they worked as Lead Wellness Clinic Veterinary Technician at Pet Resource Center of Kansas City, working effectively in a team in fast-paced, high-volume, low-income based walk-in wellness clinic on Fridays in a temporary position.

In 2016, Paniagua-Novak was a Veterinary Assistant/Expeditor at Banfield Pet Hospital. After two months, they were elevated to the Expeditor role, which required problem-solving, multi-tasking, and remaining extremely organized in a fast-paced, high-stress environment.

Finally, in 2018, Paniagua-Novak began working at Companion Protect. (Isa)Bella started as a Product Manager and was later promoted to Product Owner, responsible for defining the product vision and owning the product development process. (Isa)Bella then became a Sr. Business Analyst on a remote agile team, facilitating effective and engaging meetings and workshops for the product. (Isa)Bella was also the BA over the company's "legacy" Salesforce system and was responsible for all requirements activities for enhancement requests. Lastly, they acted as an Account Executive in the Client Services Team, owning the relationship with designated animal shelter partners and developing meaningful client relationships in order to provide support on the animal shelter management software system and the offering of pet insurance to adopters.

IsaBella Paniagua-Novak has a comprehensive educational background. (Isa)Bella attended Turner High School from 2007 to 2011, where they completed a College Preparatory program. (Isa)Bella then attended The Johns Hopkins University from 2011 to 2013, but did not obtain a degree. From 2013 to 2016, they obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Microbiology from The University of Kansas and earned a Certification in Service Learning in 2015. In addition to their degree, they have obtained several certifications, including a Technical Product Management certificate from LinkedIn in 2022, a Membership Certificate from the Interaction Design Foundation in 2022, a Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) certificate from Scrum.org in 2021, a Google Project Management Certificate from Coursera in 2021, a Mastering Digital Project Management certificate from The Digital Project Manager in 2021, a Project Management: Technical Projects certificate from LinkedIn in 2021, a Software Design: Developing Effective Requirements certificate from LinkedIn in 2021, a Software Product Management Specialization certificate from Coursera in 2020, and a Certified SAFe 5 Product Owner/Product Manager certificate from Scaled Agile, Inc. in 2023.