Board Members
Deborah Wilson, M.D.
Board member, Chair of the Board
Phoenix, Arizona
Deborah is a board-certified Gynecologist in Scottsdale, Ariz. with a specialty in advanced laparoscopic surgery. In practice for 32 years, she attended George Washington University Medical School and completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Josephs Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. She has been voted an Arizona Top Doc for the last 10 years and is nationally recognized as an authority on laparoscopic hysterectomy. She is an instructor for Olympus America, teaching surgeons laparoscopic surgical skills nationally.
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Deborah owns a farm animal sanctuary in Prescott Valley Arizona, Circle L Ranch Rescue and Sanctuary, which is a permanent home for abused or abandoned horses, burros, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, ducks, geese, and dogs.
Annie Harvilicz, D.V.M. CVA
President, Animal Wellness Foundation Board member, Animal Wellness Action
Los Angeles, California
A veterinarian, Annie Harvilicz is the founder and chief medical officer of Animal Wellness Centers in Marina Del Rey, California. She has authored several studies on evolutionary genetics and biology including Species-specific impacts of grazing amphipods in an eelgrass-bed community, which contributed to understanding the root causes of deterioration of the Chesapeake Bay. In 2012, she conducted an unpublished study using an animal’s own blood to harvest iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells) to treat cancer.
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Dr. Annie graduated with High Honors in Research Biology from The College of William & Mary in Virginia and received her DVM degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine where she served as president of the school’s chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and her CVA from the Chi Institute of Chinese Medicine. Dr. Annie has been licensed to practice veterinary medicine in California, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Sherry Kellett
Board Member, Treasurer
Clyde, North Carolina
Sherry, a resident of western North Carolina, retired after a career in business where she served as a controller and executive focused on accounting and financial management responsibilities.
She’s also served on for-profit and not-for-profit boards where she’s led oversight on finance and governance issues.
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She received her undergraduate degree from Duke University in chemistry and later took courses in accounting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She spent 19 years at BB&T Corporation and retired as Senior Executive Vice President & Corporate Controller. She was an auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co. She’s served and led on board committees focused on Audit, Risk, Compensation, Compliance and Corporate Governance. Her primary hobby is caring for her dogs, and she’s devoted to protecting all animals.
Marion Look-Jameson
Board Member, Austin, Texas
Marion Look-Jameson, a native Texas, spent her childhood in Guam, and it was her firsthand experiences in seeing stray animals and non-existent animal-care programs that partly inspired her instinct to promote kindness to all animals. She returned to Texas and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in fashion design. But rather than work in fashion, she turned to real estate and property management and has been extremely successful in that work during recent decades.
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Her greatest passion though is animal protection, and she's been working with Wayne Pacelle to halt animal fighting in the U.S. territories, including her beloved Guam, where she's been a primary supporter of Guam Animals in Need (GAIN). She's been deeply immersed in so many animal protection programs, including helping the animals of her community, Guam, Mexico, and elsewhere.
Joseph Goode
Board Member
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The former president of the board of the Dane County Humane Society (Madison, Wisconsin) and a trial lawyer who’s litigated cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and myriad other tribunals, Joseph S. Goode is the Managing Partner of Laffey, Leitner & Goode LLC, a law firm based in Milwaukee. Mr. Goode annually teaches segments of Wisconsin’s humane officer certification course and regularly presents to lawyers, judges, humane officers, shelters, and other animal constituencies on best practices for sheltering and seizure-related matters.
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When not doing his legal work, he loves to hang out with his wife Dina, cats Audrey and Valentino, and an 11-year old spoiled boxer named Greta.
Candis Stern
Board Member
Las Cruces, N.M.
Candis Stern grew up in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and then moved to San Diego where she spent 15 years. She spent a large share of her life subsequently (31 years) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she was very active with ballot measures to ban the target shooting of mourning doves and to forbid trophy hunting and commercial trapping of wolves – both winning measures. She then moved to Las Cruces, N.M., and has been there for 12 years. She is there year-round now.
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She was born into an animal-loving family, with cats and dogs. She also had a horse and is today a guardian for three cats and a dog. She worked in development for Planned Parenthood and the University of Michigan Business School and as editor of the alumni publication at the U-M School of Public Health.
She served on the board of the Humane Society of Huron Valley for 6 years and helped raised the money for its new state-of-the-art shelter which opened in 2009. She also served on the City of Ann Arbor’s Animal Ordinance Committee. She was the Washtenaw County (where Ann Arbor is) representative for an animal protection political action committee in the 1990s. She served on the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation Distribution Committee, the Washtenaw Community College Foundation board, and the Soundings board (a non-profit for displaced homemakers). More recently, she served on the board of Safehaven, a no-kill shelter in Las Cruces.
She is deeply committed to the mission of Animal Wellness Action and has been a supporter of the 501(c)(4) and also AWA PAC.
Suzy Bennitt
Board Member
Ojai, California
Suzy Bennitt is former president of Friendship Force International, a cultural exchange organization that promotes global goodwill through personal friendships in over 60 countries. For the majority of her career, Suzy organized and led international journeys including a two-year humanitarian relief effort throughout the former Soviet Union, while she was based in Moscow, Russia. The organization was consequently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its groundbreaking, peace-making initiatives.
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Suzy’s lifelong devotion to fostering kindness toward animals has been expressed through numerous philanthropic and volunteer associations. She has served on the National Council for the Humane Society of the US, Board of Lifeline for Pets, supported fundraising, adoption and spay-neuter programs with Fix Our Ferals, Humane Society of Marin County, and Humane Society of Pasadena, CA. She has served on the Yosemite Conservancy’s Council of Directors since 2004. Suzy is currently writing a fantasy-adventure novel with a kindness toward animals’ theme.
Staff Members
Wayne Pacelle
Founder
Before joining the Animal Wellness groups, Wayne Pacelle was the president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, tripling the budget and net assets of the organization. He founded the Humane Society Legislative Fund and prior to that, he was executive director of The Fund for Animals. The Non-Profit Times named him seven times as one of the nation’s top 50 non-profit executives, and in 2005, he was named executive of the year.
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He wrote two New York Times bestselling books: The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals and Our Call to Defend Them and The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers Are Transforming the Lives of Animals. Wayne has led efforts to pass 1,500 state laws for animals, more than 100 federal laws and amendments, 30 ballot initiatives, and 500 corporate agreements. He is a graduate of Yale University.
Scott Edwards
General Counsel
Scott has been deeply involved in educational, environmental and animal advocacy for over 30 years, leaving behind a career working with disadvantaged youth in alternate outreach programs in New York City, to pursue a law degree with a focus on environmental and community protection. For the past two decades, Scott has worked tirelessly to advance and enforce our system of laws that safeguard our airways and watersheds
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Since 2000, he has also worked extensively to hold accountable our fundamentally inhumane and unsustainable factory farm method of meat production, where tens of thousands of animals are held in horrendous conditions, producing mountains of waste that are dumped indiscriminately on nearby fields, poisoning local rivers and streams.
In addition to a domestic body of work, Scott has also engaged on community protection internationally, working alongside activists in India, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Mexico, Canada, Europe and elsewhere to further environmental protections. He has written numerous articles and blog entries and his worked has appeared in the New York Times, Huffington Post, and several other outlets, as well as making appearances on several news outlets, including Fox News.
Scott lives just north of New York City with his family and 3 dogs and, every summer, hundreds of endangered Monarch butterflies that hatch from the waystation he and his wife maintain in their backyard.
Leslie Rudloff
Director of Federal Affairs
Before coming to Animal Wellness Action, Leslie Rudloff worked as Chief Program & Policy Officer for a state animal protection organization where she focused on promoting the use of human relevant alternatives for taxpayer-funded animal experiments in federal and state laboratories.
She assisted in litigation against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to mandate the transfer of retired chimpanzees used in research to sanctuary. Her work included assisting with legislative efforts like the passage of the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 which allows for FDA approval of certain drugs without using animal tests and R-73 an Albuquerque city resolution allowing the University of New Mexico to use the City’s discarded spay neuter tissue to test chemicals instead of using live animals.
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Prior to that, Rudloff was the Director of Legal Affairs for a nationwide nonprofit organization for a decade. That nonprofit promotes preventive medicine, especially good nutrition, and addresses controversies in modern medicine, including ethical issues in research. She directed advocacy litigation, which challenged industry and government when they encouraged the consumption of animal products and other unhealthful foods. Rudloff also assisted in the efforts to use the legal system to promote alternatives to the use of animals in medical research and education.
One of her significant focus areas has been the use of open government laws, at the state and federal level, including state public records suits in California, Michigan, New York, and South Dakota courts to ascertain information about federal and state funded animal experimentation and noncompliance with the Animal Welfare Act.
Rudloff was also instrumental in the formation of both the Tennessee Bar Association’s and Kentucky Bar Association’s Animal Law Sections. She served as Standing Committee Director for the Kentucky Bar Association Animal Law Section from 2014-2016. She presents at animal law seminars and conferences around the nation including Harvard Law School’s Animal Welfare Act at 50 Conference.
She also authored Failure to Launch: The Lack of Implementation and Enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, 66 Syr. L. Rev. 173 (2017) in Syracuse Law Review’s Symposium on Animal Law which was also featured on the Animal Legal and Historical Center website.
Kate Schultz Barton
Senior Attorney
Since graduating NYU School of Law in 2015, Kate has aimed to build her career around using the law in aggressive and creative ways to give power and voices to those who have none.
Prior to joining AWA, Kate was the staff attorney of the Animal Law Litigation Clinic, part of the Center for Animal Law Studies of Lewis & Clark Law School and the first law school clinic in the country to solely focus on farmed animals.
Before that, Kate was an Assistant District Attorney for five years at the Queens County District Attorney’s Office in New York City, where she specialized in investigating and prosecuting crimes against animals as part of the office’s Animal Cruelty Prosecutions Unit.
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She also has broader experience prosecuting domestic violence, trafficking, and pattern financial crimes. Finally, Kate has also spent time working in the civil law sphere on behalf of local government.
Kate is currently an L.L.M. candidate in Environmental Law at Vermont Law School, and was a 2011 magna cum laude graduate from Columbia University. Nowadays, after well over a decade in New York City, she has returned to her native West Coast. She currently lives in Washington State with her family, which includes an emergency medicine healthcare provider, two cats (one of whom is her greatest achievement: a former feral turned cuddlebug foster fail), and one dog.
Scott Beckstead
Director of Campaigns
After receiving his bachelor's degree from Utah State University and his JD from the University of Utah, Beckstead worked as an attorney in private practice on the central Oregon coast before going to work full-time in the animal protection sector. During that time he also served as the mayor of Waldport, Oregon from 2002 to 2007. He became known for his special expertise in the field of animal law, and has taught that subject at the University of Oregon and Willamette University law schools.
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In 2000, he co-authored Animal Law, the first casebook on the subject, and continues to teach animal law, wildlife law and policy, and Endangered Species Act as an adjunct professor of law at Willamette University.
Before coming to work for the Center for a Humane and AWA, Beckstead served in a multitude of roles for the Humane Society of the United States, including Oregon state director, equine protection specialist, and Rural Outreach director. He also helped lead a successful ballot measure campaign in 2016 to ban the trade in endangered wildlife in Oregon.
Because of his close familiarity with horses, livestock, and farm animals, Beckstead provides training to law enforcement agencies on how to handle and work with those animals, and how to investigate equine and livestock cruelty and neglect.
Joseph Grove
Director of Public Relations
Joseph Grove is a writer, journalist and editor whose involvement with the Center began in 2019, when he co-developed the Animal Wellness podcast for companion organization Animal Wellness Action. He continues to serve as host. Grove is the recipient of multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and a former media and communications advisor for The Arrow Fund, a Louisville, Ky.-based organization focused on rescuing severely abused and neglected animals.
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He shares his life with an infamously misanthropic Chihuahua named Apple.
Karen Duarte
Director of Philanthropy
Karen Duarte guides the organization’s philanthropic efforts and is responsible for the oversight, planning, and implementation of a comprehensive fundraising program. She comes to the Center with more than 34 years of fundraising experience serving in leadership positions at various animal welfare and health and human service organizations.
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Karen served as the Executive Director at the American Heart Association where she oversaw all fundraising events and initiatives along with board development and recruitment. Karen also held leadership positions at United Cerebral Palsy in NYC and United Way of Tri-State.
Karen earned a B.A. in Political Science from Pace University in NYC. She lives North of New York City with her family including two foster-fail cats, Justin and Jolene.
Natalie Ahwesh
Director of State Affairs,
Pennsylvania State Director
Natalie earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Legal Studies, Administration of Justice, French, and Mathematics. She received her master’s degree from The George Washington University in Secondary Mathematics Education. After working as a collegiate mathematics instructor for over a decade, Natalie is proud to take her passion for animal welfare full-time with Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.
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Currently residing in Pittsburgh, Penn., Natalie helped found Humane Action Pittsburgh, a grassroots organization advancing animal protection through education, policy, and community action. She has helped pass dozens of local laws, including Pennsylvania’s first ban on circus animal performances.
Natalie has several awards and accolades, including the 2023 City & State PA Power 100, 2019 Incline’s “Who’s Next” Animal Advocates, and PUMP’s and Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 Under 40 honorees. She was awarded a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship in 2023.
Tamara Drake
Director of Research and Regulatory Policy
Tamara’s 30-year career included founding and running a successful nonprofit and working in busy, high profile law firms. She was also a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and EMT instructor.
Drake coordinates research regarding regulatory testing methods for new product development, monitors agency rule-making changes, and drafts guidance policies.
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Drake also coordinated litigation in Center for Responsible Science v. Norman E. Sharpless, MD, in his official capacity as Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in DC District Court and the United States Court of Appeals, for the District of Columbia.
Jennifer Skiff
Director of International
Jennifer Skiff brings to Animal Wellness Action a lifelong focus on, and passion for, environmental issues. She crisscrossed the globe as an investigative correspondent for CNN for more than a decade, receiving several honors including the prized Environmental Media Award. Her independently produced programs about animals have aired on The Discovery Channel and other networks globally.
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Jennifer has more than 25 years of experience leading animal welfare organizations and she leads by example. After witnessing the torture of Asiatic bears in 1998, she initiated and led the successful campaign to build the first bear sanctuary in the country of Laos. Today that sanctuary is home to 22 bears. While on vacation in Indonesia, she witnessed extreme neglect of animals at a hotel zoo. She negotiated with management, facilitating the release of twelve chained monkeys into their natural habitat. Her intervention was credited for shuttering the zoo six months later.
Jennifer is currently a trustee of the Dogs’ Refuge Home in Australia and an advisor to Animal Aid USA and the Institute for Humane Education.
In her aforementioned book, Rescuing Ladybugs, Jennifer coined the phrase “The Compassion Movement.” She defines it as “the collective quest to alleviate suffering for all forms of life.” Teachers around the world are using the book to inspire students to create lasting change.
Jim Keen
Director of Veterinary Sciences
Jim Keen, D.V.M., Ph.D., earned his veterinary medicine and epidemiology doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was a senior veterinary researcher focused on livestock and zoonotic infections with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Nebraska for 15 years and later faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Veterinary Medicine for 13 years. His specific expertise is emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases of farmed animals.
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He has broad field experience in outbreak investigation and animal disease control including enteric zoonotic bacteria from livestock in the U.S., Foot and Mouth Disease in the United Kingdom, and African Swine Fever in the Caucasus. Keen lives on his family’s 140-year old grain farm in South Dakota. He is Director of Veterinary Sciences at the Center for a Humane Economy.
Ryan Luterman-Sevel
Director of Social Media
Ryan Luterman-Sevel is a Maryland-based videographer, editor, and animator with over a decade of experience in the creative space. He joined Animal Wellness Action in 2023, taking charge of the various social media channels, infographic output, and video productions produced by the foundation. Ryan lives in what he jokingly calls “the farm,” after he and his wife rescued a dog, a cat, a guinea pig, and a rabbit.
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Ryan’s video prowess enabled him to work on productions of all sizes, from consumer product advertisements to museum documentaries, from animated comedy specials to multi-cam live events with celebrity guests.
Samantha Bruegger
Campaign Manager for the Cats Aren’t Trophies ballot measure campaign
Colorado State Director
Samantha has spearheaded critical legislative victories in the domain of wildlife policy making, including an effort to block a spring black bear hunt in Washington in 2023 and promoting the adoption of a 2023 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Accountability and Reform Study that programs the outlook of a conventional fish and wildlife agency. Bruegger has worked on environmental conservation policy as well, with experience on Colorado water policy through the Outstanding Grand Lake Foundation.
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She has also served on the board of directors for the local animal shelter. Her academic background includes a Master of Public Policy from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Riverside.
In her free time, she enjoys horseback riding with her son, Sawyer, and is an active member of Backcountry Horsemen.
Jana Germano
Digital Media Specialist
After running a graphic design studio in D.C. for non-profit organizations for 12 years, Jana received her M.F.A. in Film and Media Arts with a focus on Digital Media from American University. She has worked in Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia in film post-production and advertising as a 3D and visual effects specialist. An expert in web development and design, Jana has supported organizations and content teams with her technical and creative skills.
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As a life-long animal companion and animal-lover, she is proud to be part of Animal Wellness Action’s team and mission.
Julie Marshall
National Communications Coordinator
Julie Marshall has more than 30 years of experience in print journalism and was the opinion editor for the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper before joining AWA and the Center for a Humane Economy in May 2022. She started her career as a city and police news reporter on staff for the Orange County Register in Southern California, and later worked as a features staff writer (and pet columnist) for the Camera.
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She lives in Colorado, where she was born and raised, with her family that includes a husband and two teenagers, who are constantly recognized even wearing masks, for being featured in Netflix’s film “Unwell” about the lucrative wellness industry. The Marshalls have three cats (Minka, Tanjiro and Nezuko – from the anime “Demon Slayer”) and two dogs (Leo and Bella). Marshall rightly acknowledges that she has only named her pets.
Thomas Pool, D.V.M, MPH, Dipl. ACVPM
Senior Veterinarian
Thomas Pool, MPH, DVM, earned his Masters in Public Health (tropical medicine) degree from Harvard University, and doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Oklahoma State University. He is a 30-year diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. He spent 26 years in the US Army, and served as commander of the US Army Veterinary Command, a worldwide, tri-service command. He also graduated from the US Army War College.
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Earlier he worked in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command writing peer-reviewed publications on leptospirosis and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Upon retirement as a full colonel from the Army, Dr. Pool served as the Territorial Veterinarian for Guam for 17 years. He continues to serve as adjunct professor for the University of Guam and the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy. He joined Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy in July 2022.
Tina Meredith
Investigation Specialist
Originally from Wisconsin, Tina moved to Phoenix in 2000 and very soon after found herself rescuing dogs, volunteering for rescues and for the last six years serving on the Board of a local all-breed dog rescue.
Advocating for dogs and learning about their plight seemed to naturally lead to an awareness and examination of the unfortunate issues that other animals like farmed animals and wildlife also face.
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A love for all animals and the desire to work on their behalf with other determined advocates is what draws her to an organization like the Center. Tina shares her life with her husband and four dogs, two chihuahuas a pit bull, and a boxer.
Zaher Nahle, PhD, MPA, MBA'27
Senior Scientific Advisor
Zaher Nahle is an interdisciplinary executive scientist. He served in senior positions at U.S. medical foundations, including as Chief Scientific officer, Vice President for Research, and Chief Executive Officer. Earlier in his career, he served on the faculty at major research universities where he led scientific teams and published groundbreaking work in top journals like Nature.
Dr. Nahle earned many recognitions, most recently as a Dean's Scholar at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, a merit award “For outstanding academic achievement, demonstrated leadership abilities, and commitment to Carey’s values of relentless advancement, boundless curiosity, unwavering humanity, and collaborative leadership.”
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Dr. Nahle is a staunch exponent of credible modeling in science, including the New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). He is a frequent organizer and speaker at international conferences in the U.S. and Europe, and served on specialized workgroups at federal agencies like the NIH and the CDC. For years, he has been making the case for change through written professional publications, contributions to committees and panels, engagement with health officials, and impactful advocacy on Capitol Hill. He is the founder of IVYCTORY Group.
Dr. Nahle earned his Master's degree in Public Administration (MPA) alongside a certificate in Public Policy & Management from Harvard University, where he was a Mason fellow. He received his PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from the Stony Brook University/Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) joint programs. He was a pioneer in developing and manufacturing high-throughput technologies like microarrays. His doctoral work uncovered new mechanisms for viral oncoproteins in genomic instability, cellular toxicity, and cancer.
Brandon Burr
Director of Food Policy
Dr. Brandon Burr is a practicing optometrist in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to helping patients, Brandon serves as a consultant to Clear Conscience, a cruelty-free eye care brand.
Growing up with his beloved Staffordshire Bull Terrier in the Chicago suburbs, Brandon developed an early understanding of the sentience and intelligence of all animals. It was only natural for him to make animal advocacy his Personal Legend, as inspired by The Alchemist.
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Brandon previously served on the HSUS – Arizona State Council, and was chosen as the 2019 Volunteer of the Year in recognition of exceptional leadership to advance animal protection efforts in Arizona and nationally.
Brandon’s role as Director of Food Policy is to engage local and state governments and corporations about their food policies, and inspire change, to protect farm animals, wildlife and their habitats, and our planet’s fragile biodiversity. His dream is to create a humane economy with a shift towards a plant-based culture.
In his free time, Brandon enjoys practicing yoga, playing tennis, hiking, reading, traveling, and spending time with his companion animals.
Desiree Bender
Executive Administrator
Arkansas State Director
With more than 25 years of experience in diverse roles with national animal protection organizations, Desiree Bender has effectively led local, state, and federal initiatives, driving critical animal welfare reforms. She developed campaigns and secured landmark laws to shield animals from cruelty and needless suffering. Additionally, she combatted measures detrimental to animal welfare, pushed for regulations to implement existing laws, and secured vital funding to enforce new and existing animal protection laws.
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Earlier in her career, Bender spearheaded countless multi-agency investigations and the rescue of thousands of animals from criminal animal neglect, fighting, and cruelty. Moreover, she was pivotal in educating lawmakers, advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement, veterinarians, and other stakeholders nationwide on animal protection laws and enforcement.
Bender lives in Arkansas, sharing her life with four dogs and six horses, all rescues.
State Directors
Desiree Bender
Arkansas State Director
Executive Administrator
With more than 25 years of experience in diverse roles with national animal protection organizations, Desiree Bender has effectively led local, state, and federal initiatives, driving critical animal welfare reforms. She developed campaigns and secured landmark laws to shield animals from cruelty and needless suffering. Additionally, she combatted measures detrimental to animal welfare, pushed for regulations to implement existing laws, and secured vital funding to enforce new and existing animal protection laws.
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Earlier in her career, Bender spearheaded countless multi-agency investigations and the rescue of thousands of animals from criminal animal neglect, fighting, and cruelty. Moreover, she was pivotal in educating lawmakers, advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement, veterinarians, and other stakeholders nationwide on animal protection laws and enforcement.
Bender lives in Arkansas, sharing her life with four dogs and six horses, all rescues.
Zach Skow
Central Valley, California Director
Zach was born and raised in hermosa beach California. As a kid he aspired to become a fighter pilot but would later find his passion in providing second chances for pets and people.
Zach began working in local animal welfare in 2004, developing the first large-dog foster program, which he headed, as well as an education and therapy dog program called Miracle Mutts
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It is out of this desperate situation that Marley’s Mutts dog rescue was born. Zach found a way to save his own life, by saving the lives of others, a Philosophy of service which Marley’s Mutts has adhered to since its founding. Marley’s Mutts was honored in Sacramento as best non profit of the year for our district of California in 2019!
Marley’s Mutts has rescued over 6000 dogs, cats, horses and pigs in the last 11 years and has created numerous progressive programs including barks and books, miracle mutts and Pawsitive change — an inmate/canine rehabilitation program which is spreading throughout the California penal system and hopefully the world.
Zach married the woman of his dreams, Heather Skow, and they have a 19 month old daughter together, as well as 5 dogs, 1 cat, a pig and three horses.
Samantha Bruegger
Colorado State Director
Campaign Manager for the Cats Aren’t Trophies ballot measure campaign
Samantha has spearheaded critical legislative victories in the domain of wildlife policy making, including an effort to block a spring black bear hunt in Washington in 2023 and promoting the adoption of a 2023 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Accountability and Reform Study that programs the outlook of a conventional fish and wildlife agency. Bruegger has worked on environmental conservation policy as well, with experience on Colorado water policy through the Outstanding Grand Lake Foundation.
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She has also served on the board of directors for the local animal shelter. Her academic background includes a Master of Public Policy from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Riverside.
In her free time, she enjoys horseback riding with her son, Sawyer, and is an active member of Backcountry Horsemen.
Angela Li
Connecticut State Director
Angela Li is the co-head of the Hotchkiss Humane Society, the animal advocacy organization at her school dedicated to fundraising for local and international causes and spreading awareness on animal welfare related issues. Serving as a volunteer administrative assistant for Animal Wellness Action has allowed her to gain firsthand experience with policy, from collaborating with nonprofits nationwide to writing op-eds and working with legislators. In college, she hopes to major in English while dedicating a large amount of time to advocating for animal justice and learning effective means to do so.
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Since her childhood, Li has had an affinity for animals. In 2019, she produced a documentary with Hong Kong Dog Rescue, a local dog shelter, about the benefits of adopting rather than buying pets. Having significantly less time to spend with her pet corgi, Zack, after leaving for boarding school has pushed her to put even more effort into ensuring the welfare of animals in her new community as a way of feeling close to her pet again.
Laurie Hood
Florida State Director
Laurie is the founder of Alaqua Animal Refuge, the premier, no-kill animal refuge and sanctuary for both domestic and farm animals located in Northwest Florida. She has created multiple programs including Equine Interactions, an equine assisted therapy program, and the Unconditional Love program, which provides trained companion dogs free of charge to the elderly and special needs individuals, and offering inmates a contributing role in the process.
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She has received numerous awards, including “Daily Point of Light Award” from President George H. W. Bush; the Pinnacle Award in from 850 Magazine in Northwest Florida for her community service and leadership; Communicator of the Year for Non-Profit from the Florida Public Relations Association, Northwest Florida Coast Chapter; and is currently featuring in the Female Disrupters series in Authority Magazine and Thrive Global.
Pam Rogers
Kentucky State Director
Although Pam was born in Minneapolis and spent her early years in Southern California, she says she has been in Kentucky long enough to “ya’ll with the best of them!” She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a master's degree in economics and held a variety of positions in both the public and private sectors before starting her own consulting firm in the late 90’s.
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Over the past 20 years, Pam has served as a representative and lobbyist for several state and national animal protection organizations. She is a long-time resident of Louisville where she currently resides with her husband, two rescued Jack Russell Terriers and a cat named Peaches, who is the self-proclaimed “boss of the house.”
"Animal advocacy is tough work but Animal Wellness Action has the right focus and built a strong team to make great strides for animals. I am thrilled to join them on this journey. "
Gina Garey, M.S.
Maine State Director
Gina is a former financial services professional who served as Vice President of Wealth Management for two New York-based firms, specializing in strategic wealth management, marketing, public speaking and presentation development, estate planning and planned giving for high net worth clients. She was recognized as a top producer with MetLife Securities in her home state, and served as Field Advisor to the Board of Directors, MetLife NY, N.Y.
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She served as a state council member for the Humane Society of the United States for five years, successfully initiating two ordinances in the City of Portland, banning the retail sale of puppy mill dogs and cats in 2106 and in 2017, banning exotic performing animals in circuses and traveling or roadside shows.
Raised on the coast of Massachusetts, Gina's love for animals began early, as she spent her early years at the local horse farm caring daily for the animals, where she learned to ride. She went on to care for her own horses, competing locally. From early experience with her own animals, to a life-long passion for advocacy promoting animal welfare causes, she has a personal investment in the improvement of all animals’ lives. She has supported a vegetarian lifestyle since the age of 17.
Scott Schulman
Maryland State Director
Scott earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Vermont in Philosophy and Political Science. He received his law degree from George Mason University. He has experience in environmental and non-profit law and is currently doing appellate litigation in veterans' benefits cases
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Scott became interested in animal advocacy in law school and is very excited to be working with AWA to bring positive change.
Carolyn Hall
Montana State Director
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Natalie Ahwesh
Pennsylvania State Director,
Director of State Affairs
Natalie earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Legal Studies, Administration of Justice, French, and Mathematics. She received her master’s degree from The George Washington University in Secondary Mathematics Education. After working as a collegiate mathematics instructor for over a decade, Natalie is proud to take her passion for animal welfare full-time with Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.
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Currently residing in Pittsburgh, Penn., Natalie helped found Humane Action Pittsburgh, a grassroots organization advancing animal protection through education, policy, and community action. She has helped pass dozens of local laws, including Pennsylvania’s first ban on circus animal performances.
Natalie has several awards and accolades, including the 2023 City & State PA Power 100, 2019 Incline’s “Who’s Next” Animal Advocates, and PUMP’s and Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 Under 40 honorees. She was awarded a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship in 2023.
Robert Galvin
Vermont State Director
Robert “Bob” Galvin recently earned his M.S. degree in Biology at the College of William & Mary, a premier public research university widely recognized for its outstanding reputation situated in Virginia, where he worked with 26 different landowners around Virginia to conduct bird and turtle research on their properties.
After graduating from William & Mary, he worked as an Assistant Action Team Coordinator at the nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and he found nonprofit work to be substantially fulfilling.
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He coordinated a huge volunteer database containing tens of thousands of activists that included the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and provided support to local grassroots activists throughout that area. He also worked in PETA’s Laboratory Investigations Department as a Campaign Coordinator.
Galvin is adeptly skilled at organizing volunteer events with local activists in the community. Additionally, he is a proud vegan and is dedicated to making the world a better place for animals.
Suzanne Lieberman
Washington State Director
Suzanne was born and raised in Los Angeles but has called Washington state home for the past eight years. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University in History. She received a Master of Environmental Science and Management degree from the Bren School at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Suzanne spent the first 10 years of her career in wildlife conservation and the last 10 in several areas of civil law.
She is now hoping to harness experience from both to mitigate animal suffering in a variety of contexts and settings.
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She loves speaking foreign languages and is an avid hiker, swimmer, and pianist. She spends most of her free time either sketching or oil painting classical figures and portraits (human and pet) and birding, volunteering for several bird monitoring projects in the greater Seattle area.
Suzanne lives on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically, those of the Snoqualmie Valley Indian Tribe in the Cascade foothills, with her two Norwegian forest mix rescue cats, Misha and Sasha.
Paul Collins
Wisconsin State Director
Paul is a lifelong animal advocate that was born and raised in Wisconsin. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Disaster and Emergency Management from Upper Iowa University and has worked as a public servant for law enforcement and higher education public safety agencies for over two decades.
Paul also served in the United States Army Reserve as a quartermaster. While that might be a different path to animal advocacy, Paul has had a lifelong passion for animals and has been actively advocating for them for over a decade in Wisconsin, especially for wildlife.
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Paul lives with four rescue dogs and two rescue cats. He has also worked with wildlife rehabilitators to transport injured and orphaned wildlife for many years. He is an avid hiker, wildlife watcher, aviation enthusiast, and has a fondness for rock music. Paul considers himself a 24/7/365 animal advocate and he shares the ethos and passion that the AWA team possesses.