The Global Council for Animals is a volunteer group of change agents devoted to sweeping reforms for animal protection. We strategically work together like a “special ops” team to improve the lives of animals worldwide. We are committed to the success of all organizations in the Animal Wellness Group and the furthering of their missions.
“People always ask me why my passion belongs to animals and why my devotion is to be a voice for the voiceless. My answer often varies but to make a long, soap box story short….
My husband rescued the tiniest, frail kitten stuck in a wire fence in the middle of a field in Warwickshire, England. It truly inspired me. I discovered just how good it felt to help those who haven’t the ability to help themselves.
I have the fire inside me to fight every animal rights cause going. Yet I am especially drawn to a few: The cruelty of puppy mills, the barbaric atrocity of fur farming, the heartbreaking tourist attraction of horse drawn carriages, the pathetically stupid existence of animal testing, and the unnecessary wretchedness of farm animal treatment.
It’s hard to believe these acts of torture exist in our ‘modern’ world. I hope there’ll come a day when we’ll look back at these things and think how medieval, how wise to have done away with them — and with that kind of thinking … let’s all work together to make a change!”
Gloria Butler
Gloria Butler is the president of GB Management where she looks after a small roster of writers and musicians. Gloria has been active in animal rescue for a number of years and has spearheaded numerous campaigns, protests, and been instrumental in shutting down various pet stores that supported puppy mills.
Although Gloria is passionate about all animal causes, she finds herself particularly sensitive to the fur industry, horse-drawn carriages, puppy mills, and spay & neuter. Gloria has dedicated herself to helping animals in need by serving as a member of the Humane Society’s National Council and acting as Co-Chair for their To The Rescue! Fundraiser for the past couple of years. She received the Advocacy Award from Kitten Rescue in 2016, and the Sam Simon Award from Last Chance for Animals in 2019.
Kimberly Friedmutter
Kimberly Friedmutter is a world-renowned hypnotherapist and author of the best-selling book “Subconscious Power: Use Your Inner Mind to Create the Life You’ve Always Wanted” (Simon & Schuster/Atria Books), a captivating guide to unlocking the human potential within the subconscious mind.
She sits on the prestigious UCLA Health Systems Board and was recently instrumental in tripling the size of the monumental Arline and Henry Gluck Mobile Stroke Rescue Program.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Kimberly is fueled by an intensely passionate love for animals. Raised in Texas with chickens, horses and various livestock, animals both large and small are her family. In fact, her hypnotherapy practice often calls on understanding the animalistic primal drives that move us, our herd mentality, fight/flight/freeze responses, and how our closeness with nature drives our happiness.
As a board member of the Global Council for Animals, she actively champions the rights and well-being of all creatures. Kimberly’s deep love for animals inspires her commitment to their care and protection as she continues to make a profound impact on the world around her, driven by her unwavering love for all living beings.
“When we love creatures both large and small, a series of chemical reactions occurs that benefits us beyond conventional comprehension.”
“I am certain that God smiles when we love beyond our capacity. We are only as good as the love we share with others, magnified when we love those who love unconditionally. Animal life gives us the opportunity to express our humanity; whether cradling a suffering sparrow or protecting our planet’s largest living, when we show grace through the great gift of shepherding, our souls in turn are graced.”
“Every wild animal I’ve ever rescued or rehabilitated continues to show up (even decades later) in some learning, laughter or love lesson.”
Gigi Gartner
Gigi Gartner has been the president and CEO of the Gartner Company since 1982 and has expertly led the growth and management of her family-owned commercial real estate business for over four decades. Her leadership has been instrumental in expanding the company’s reach and impact in the real estate sector.
Beyond her professional achievements, Gigi is a dedicated philanthropist with a strong commitment to education and animal welfare. Her efforts in animal rescue are particularly noteworthy; for over 20 years, she has focused on rescuing and rehabilitating German Shepherds from challenging situations. In May 2024, Gigi spearheaded a matching donation initiative with the Communities Foundation of Texas, raising $556,777 in just two weeks to support local animal shelters.
Gigi has contributed to programs aiding PTSD recovery through therapy dogs and supported active-duty K-9 units. Additionally, her work with the IMPACT! scholarship program and the establishment of scholarship funds underscores her commitment to education.
In 1998, Gigi co-founded and has since directed the Common Cent Program, an educational nonprofit that teaches Dallas ISD students about philanthropy. Under her leadership, the program has raised nearly $1 million for local nonprofits, impacting countless lives.
Tracey Gluck
Tracey is the founder of The Gluck Group and a Portfolio Manager in the firm’s exclusive Portfolio Manager Program, a select group of advisors who have passed a screening process and are reviewed regularly on both a quantitative and qualitative basis. Focusing on clients in transition, she assesses their current and long-term needs, time horizon and risk tolerance. She then designs tailored portfolios to help achieve their objectives, employing J.P. Morgan’s vast array of services and thought leadership resources.
Trained as a special education teacher, Tracey also had a passion for investing, which ultimately led to her career in financial services. She joined an investment firm in the human resources department and studied finance at night as a precursor to becoming an advisor. Her disciplined approach to asset allocation and portfolio diversification is founded in fundamental and technical analysis. Tracey’s clients trust her to guide them in making solid investment decisions and staying the course when markets are challenging. Tracey joined a J.P. Morgan predecessor firm in 1985 and transitioned to her current role in 2008.
Tracey graduated from the University of Southern California, earning both a B.A. and M.A. She lives in Beverly Hills and enjoys skiing, travel and photography. Tracey is a board member of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. She is active in the Special Olympics, Wags and Walks and Gorilla Doctors.
“I give a damn. That’s my motto.
I wish I could say there’s one animal that I care the most about but there really isn’t. I care about all of them.
Every day I read the news about animal cruelty in places around the world. That’s what keeps me up at night. It’s just how we’re made. At least I am, and the people in my life. We care. We give a damn.
When I decided to close my business in 2009, my husband reminded me that, instead of working 10-hour days, seven days a week on a business, I can work just as hard on something else about which I care passionately. Some years earlier, a stray cat kept crawling up the walls outside my second-floor window. Of course, I let him into my house and into my heart. I’ve been rescuing animals ever since – first one, then two, then three. Our animals make our house a home.
That was when I realized: I found my purpose! Animal welfare and animal protection. And, specifically, I want to be a part of Wayne’s growing army after years of working with him and admiring his exceptional ability to get so much accomplished.
For many people during a pandemic, and the extended period of time afterward, charitable causes can take a back seat — financially and emotionally. This makes our work even more important. The pandemic has prevented me from holding fundraisers for animal issues. But we can still do good things. That’s why I’m on board. That’s why the work must keep going.
Our household is now down to three dogs and two cats (we lost one of our beloved cats recently). And our cause keeps moving forward.
That’s still what keeps me up at night. I still give a damn. And I love working with this team that feels the same way.”
Stacey Kivowitz
Stacey Dorfman Kivowitz, a resident of Dallas, is trailblazer in the fashion lingerie world and founder of Sheers — The Bodywear Bar. Stacey is also a licensed pilot, a vegan, a political junkie, a world traveler and a French-speaking Francophile working on her Italian and Spanish.
Today, the Johns Hopkins University graduate, can be found in California and Texas running her energy companies, working as chairman and owner of Dorfman Production Company, fostering animals at the Kivo Humane Halfway House, or directing the Stacey and Don Kivowitz Charitable Foundation.
Stacey is widely known for her deep civic involvement with North Texas Food Bank, Johns Hopkins Alumni Association, World Affairs Council, School Year Abroad, Vogel Alcove and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Her early career included working in D.C. with Ed Rollins (post-Reagan White House), former U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and U.S. Senator Chic Hecht, R-Nev.. Stacey served as Learning Chair of Young Entrepreneurs Organization.
She is a leading advocate for animal welfare with services on on the National Council of The Humane Society of the United States and the board of the SPCA of Texas. She also works in Los Angeles with Last Chance for Animals and Mercy for Animals.
Stacey’s husband, Don Kivowitz, an entrepreneur and investor in healthcare, real estate and cannabis industry, is on The Annenberg Board of Performing Arts providing opportunities for under privileged youth. He is also on the board of After School All Star, benefitting at risk children. The Kivowitz’s current project is a documentary to raise awareness about global animal abuse.
Louise Linton
Mrs. Linton is a Scottish-born actress and filmmaker. She is a producing partner at Stormchaser Films, a Los Angeles-based independent production company that she founded in 2012. In addition to being a member of the Global Council for Animals, she works on a wide range of programs for Animal Wellness Action, the Animal Wellness Foundation, and the Center for a Humane Economy. She has an undergraduate degree from Pepperdine University and a J.D. from the University of West Los Angeles.
Louise Linton has been an animal welfare advocate since childhood. Since moving to the United States from Scotland, Louise has supported numerous animal welfare organizations through her activism, fundraising, and financial contributions. Louise’s passion for animal welfare and conservation has been a moral imperative since childhood, and in recent years has become a large and consuming aspect of her life.
In 2019, she created The Louise Linton Charitable Fund which aims to protect the wellbeing of people and animals both locally and in under-resourced communities around the world. The fund is designed to provide financial support to the existing work of various 501(c)3 organizations who work across the spectrum and across the globe targeting a wide variety of animal welfare issues, be they on land or in the ocean. Louise is using her time in Washington, DC to advocate for animal welfare. Her specific focus in 2020 has been the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, as it pertains to puppy mills and large or exotic animals in roadside zoos.
“Changing policy and legislation changes lives — including animal lives.
Since moving to Washington, D.C. from California, I have shifted much of my philanthropic focus to changing federal government policy and legislation on animals because it has the potential to prevent unending cruelty of millions of animals in perpetuity.
I’m inspired to do this because it’s hard to imagine anything more heartless than an innocent animal caged in a testing lab being intentionally tortured to test medical treatments — utterly unnecessarily.
Animal testing is a medieval archaic concept in the age when computers and other modern analyses can do it without doing harm to animals. And so much of this needless torture is fueled by government policy and funding. And we can change that. We are changing that.
With Animal Wellness Action, I work to modernize the FDA approval process as it pertains to the participation of domestic animals in the evaluation of pharmaceutical development.
In fact, AWA has a long list of actions on policy and legislative changes to help protect animals.
From my earliest years born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland years before coming to America, animal welfare has been my passion. In 2019, I founded The Louise Linton Charitable Fund to formalize my commitment. My philanthropy is now international and widespread including humanitarian, environmental and conservation through community activism and fundraising. But my passion for helping combat needless lab testing of animals remains my supreme passion. I invite you to join me and the AWA team.”
“I have a deeply held belief that positive improvement in the area of animal agriculture has the ability to reduce suffering for such a great number of beating hearts and sentient beings. As they say in the business world, it’s about scale. How many animals can we help with our efforts? Yes, I want to save them all from harm — pets and wildlife too. Yet farm animal advocacy is my greatest passion and, in my opinion, has the most potential for improving the lives on animals.
Fundamentally, it’s about concern for “victims” that has driven me. Indeed, from the time I was a small child, I felt a sadness and compassion for anyone who was mistreated, bullied or otherwise shunned by other kids — and has no defense or recourse, other than to be victims. I was drawn to these kids and wanted to help them.
At the same time, I always loved animals. I had no understanding, at that time, how much animals suffered this same fate of being victimized by those stronger — humans — and being unable to defend themselves from those who heartlessly cause harm.
My desire to help grew as I learned about not just factory farming but other human victimization of animals for clothing, entertainment, luxury and more. I began formally working within the AZ and federal legislatures to do constituent lobbying and help pass bills protecting animals when I first met Wayne. And I’m so pleased to be a part of his team today doing such far-reaching, thoughtful and effective work on behalf of animals.”
Joanne Mizell
Joanne Mizell is a health insurance industry executive, spending 31 years assisting national corporate employers design, fund and deliver benefits to their global employees. She is currently chief operating officer for Banner|Aetna, an Arizona-based insurance company, jointly owned by Banner Health and Aetna/CVS.
Raised on the beaches of Orange County, California, Joanne attended Cal State Fullerton while working full-time to support herself. She is a devout Christian who enjoys the beach, sailing, skiing, hiking, reading and working towards becoming the person that God designed her to be. Joanne’s primary residence is in Scottsdale, where she lives with her husband, Gary, and their precious cat, Stella.
Joanne’s love of animals, and disbelief that humans could cause them pain or suffering, drives her advocacy work to see the reduction of animal cruelty. She has enjoyed and been enriched by serving on Humane Lobby Day committees, lobbying in Washington DC, and testifying before the Arizona legislature on behalf of policies to benefit companion and farm animals.
kimberly ovitz
Kimberly Ovitz (American, b. 1983) is a photographer, filmmaker, designer and entrepreneur using art and commerce to inspire and accelerate change.
She received her BA in History of Art and Architecture, and Public and Private Sector Organizations from Brown University.
In 2009, the former fashion designer launched a critically-acclaimed, eponymous women’s apparel brand. She was featured in top global publications including W Magazine, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, InStyle and the American, Spanish and Brazilian editions of Vogue.
After closing her women’s wear brand in 2013, Ovitz took the role of Director of Business Development for Relativity Media’s fashion group in New York. She then returned to LA to consult for digital publishing clients and CPG brands as a Vice President at MediaLink.
Ovitz attended USC School of Cinematic Arts’ intensive directing program in 2018, where she wrote, produced, and directed her first short film, “Wildlife”. A year later, she was assistant director of the feature film Absence of Eden.
Over the past decade, Ovitz has worked with The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other organizations as an animal rights activist. She co-founded Humane Generation LA, a partnership with HSUS, and previously sat on their California state council to drive and support legislative change.
In 2020, she became certified as an ashtanga yoga teacher, deepening her preoccupation with and constant awe of light in both its spiritual and physical form.
She consulted in 2022 as Creative Director to Starshot Ventures Launch Pad, a venture capital firm that invests in and builds subversive brands in wellness, CPG, and technology.
In 2023, fine art gallery Casterline/Goodman in Aspen, CO, began representing Kimberly’s photography. They hosted her first fine art photography exhibition titled, Mother.
Kimberly believes that visual storytelling is one of the fastest ways to shift perspective and has the power to create impactful change in the world. She loves to collaborate with brands, people, and places as a creative director, photographer, designer, filmmaker, or consultant.
Kimberly works and lives in Los Angeles with her dogs, Soft, Wally and Two Socks.
“My purpose in life is to help animals in whatever capacity I can. They are sentient pure beings on earth with no voice. They face tremendous injustice against them, and I feel it is my duty to help give the voiceless a voice and to help fight for justice on their behalf.”
“People undervalue and under-appreciate their existence on this earth, what incredible magic they bring to the world, and all of the super powers they have that we as humans do not. Humans treat them like they are objects to do with whatever they please, when instead they share this planet equally with us and should have their own rights to live and breathe freely without harm and abuse. I am humbled to have this calling and honored every time I get to make their lives better in even the smallest way possible.”
“I love all animals. Always have. But I concede there is something special about looking into the eyes of an elephant. Giant. Mighty. Thoughtful. Ancient. Noble.
Now I have the chance to save many thousands of them – and to help them thrive for generations, safe from legal hunting and from illegal poaching.
I am working with a talented international team, including Animal Wellness Acton and the Center for a Humane Economy, to craft an agreement for Zambia’s national parks to accept an animal-friendly migration of up to 30,000 elephants from Botswana, it’s neighbor to the south where the government has changed its policy to allow trophy hunting.
There is an elegant answer to a complex problem: Move the elephants to a safer place. The ecosystem in Zambia seem ideal. The local enthusiasm is there. We’re on the precipice of doing a hydrologic study to make certain the elephants would have plenty of water, and we’re designing a proposal for international financing.
If we succeed, Botswana will take a big step toward restoring its reputation as a protector of the great African mammals. We’re working with Zambia to introduce the concept of adding in a private sector ecotourism projects to protect the elephants and generate local income and bank interest in potentially financing the project. And the Center for a Humane Economy will play a key role in reducing trophy hunting at its source.
I wake up every morning wondering what can be done today to further this innovative initiative that would not only save thousands of elephants, combat trophy hunting and fund local investments but could prove as a viable solution for other wild animals.”
Jennifer Sullivan
Jennifer Sullivan operates an independent international consulting business and is a special adviser to the US-Korea Institute at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Sullivan is also a consultant for Japan Bank for International Cooperation, focusing primarily on projects in Myanmar and Indonesia.
Prior to starting her consulting business, Ms. Sullivan was the General Counsel of International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, overseeing management of 140 staff in 12 countries. She was IFC Deputy General Counsel and before that was the Chief Counsel responsible for IFC’s investment activities in the power sector, the financial markets sector, all investments in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as IFC’s Treasury, Syndications and Underwriting functions.
Ms. Sullivan spent several years with the international law firm of White & Case. She also has handled public offerings, mergers and other securities transactions as an attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Sullivan has held a number of key positions in professional organizations, including Chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on International Investment and Development. She has served as board member or advisor to a wide range of domestic and international animal protection groups. Ms. Sullivan received her juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School and holds a B.A. from Brandeis University.