I am a California native now doing the good work in the DFW area of Texas. I am a life-long member of animal well-being. Beginning with obsessively watching Steve Irwin as a child, starting as a volunteer at just 16 years old, and working my first gig at a big box pet store. Not able to afford a dog trainer and limited access to resources, I decided I wanted to learn all I could to help my personal dog, the dogs of family and friends, and the dogs sitting in our city shelters with love. That kickstarted my career in animal well-being where I’ve remained. I am currently working as a Behavior Manager/Certified Trainer at Operation Kindness in Carrollton, TX where we hope to keep pets in their homes. Here, I lead our behavior programs, working with two skilled specialists, Angelica and Chanel, who excel in shelter and community client behavior support. I am a pet parent to two cherished senior dogs, though I love all things and would honestly have a zoo. Although far from my California roots and my family, I love to embrace travel to continuously learn and grow. 

Abby's roots in animal welfare started in rural Kentucky fostering bottle kittens and volunteering at her local humane society in highschool. In 2022, Abby joined Operation Kindness with 6 years of experience managing shelter, intake, and foster teams, along with kitten programs for municipal and nonprofit shelters in the DFW area. As the Foster and Intake Manager, Abby oversees their growing foster programs and builds intake partnerships across Texas and Louisiana. In this role, she has been able to connect with her transfer partners to provide foster training, resources and education to help grow their own foster programs. Abby resides in Dallas with her partner and their 3 cats and tripod catahoula.

Clare Callison is the Maddie’s® Director of National Pet Supply and Demand for American Pets Alive! and serves on the Board of Directors for CARE (Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity). She provides guidance and support to help organizations build robust lifesaving programs and improve operations to better serve people and pets. Clare specializes in helping organizations grow their transport relationships and increase their lifesaving through rescue partnerships and open adoption practices. Before joining American Pets Alive!, she was the Director of Operations for San Antonio Pets Alive for 5 years. Because of her heavy involvement, San Antonio has gone from a 28 percent live release rate to a 90 percent live release rate in over three years. Clare enjoys helping others seek lifesaving solutions to common challenges that exist in working in a high-volume, fast-paced animal welfare organization.

In 2016, my journey in the world of animal rescue began with a simple act of volunteering. Little did I know that this initial step would ignite a passionate fire within me. I quickly became one of the forest fosters for our local shelter, nurturing the belief that every animal deserves a loving home. As the years rolled by, my commitment to this cause continued to deepen. In 2019, I took on the role of Shelter Manager, where I witnessed first-hand the incredible impact we could make in the lives of animals. In 2021, I embarked on a new adventure, partnering with Let Love Live in Texas as Executive Director to create a foster-based second location in Minnesota. This exciting collaboration allowed us to expand our reach and provide even more animals with the chance to find their forever homes while creating relationships with people, businesses, and organizations within multiple communities in different states. Through every step of my journey, I've learned that the love and dedication we pour into animal welfare not only transforms the lives of these precious creatures and the families that love them but also enriches our own lives in immeasurable ways.

Luis Quintanilla is the Executive Director for the Rio Grande Valley Humane Society, located in the Rio Grande Valley in deep south Texas. Luis joined Rio Grande Valley Humane Society after most recently being the Director of Operations for Palm Valley Animal Society (PVAS) in Edinburg, Texas. In his role at PVAS, Luis was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of an organization with an annual intake of 30,000 animals. In two years, the save rate at PVAS increased from 30% to 70%, and in January 2020, the save rate surpassed 90% for the first time in the organization’s 40-year history. Luis started at PVAS in March 2018 as a temporary worker handling data entry. Luis then joined the rescue department, where his primary duties were handling the logistics of biweekly rescue transports. During his seven months in the rescue team, Luis drove over 35,000 miles transporting animals out of the shelter to rescue partners. The PVAS rescue team found live outcomes for over 8,000 cats and dogs in 2018. Luis then moved on to the development team, where he handled grant writing as the Donor Relations Coordinator. A year after joining PVAS, Luis became Shelter Manager and eventually Director of Operations. A law school graduate and recent graduate of Best Friends Animal Society’s Executive Leadership Certification program, Luis is excited to continue the mission of lifesaving at HSH where the save rate for 2020 was an incredible 92% (up from 49% in 2019).

I am the Assistant VP of Animal Operations for a a large animal rescue in DFW. I am also currently serving as the volunteer Foster Director where I oversee 50+ local and global volunteers and over 130 foster families. I provide support to my various volunteer teams, collaborate with other Animal Operations leaders, and assist in creating new, innovating life-saving programs.

With 10 years experience in the animal services field, Meaghan began her career at spcaLA in Los Angeles. As a Humane Educator, she was part of a team that ran violence-prevention programs pairing youth from at-risk communities with adoptable shelter dogs in positive reinforcement dog training classes. The Humane Education department also included a court-ordered juvenile offender program, 8-week long summer camp, and a foster program for the pets of victims of domestic violence. Meaghan moved on to become Volunteer Manager at spcaLA, overseeing almost 300 volunteers and helped implement a new volunteer levels-based dog enrichment program.

Hearts & Bones Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foster-based rescue with dual bases in New York City, NY and Dallas, TX. We are dedicated to ending the needless euthanasia of shelter dogs through direct lifesaving, shared learning, and community building. Our incredible network of rescue partners, fosters, volunteers, and a small but mighty staff work together to save dogs in the areas where shelters are under the greatest stress, and unite them with loving adopters ready to give them the lives they deserve.

Director and cofounder Jennifer Taylor was voted Best Savannahian for the work she does to improve the quality of life for both pets and families throughout the Lowcountry.

Sam has loved dogs for as long as she can remember, even though she wasn’t allowed to have one growing up. As an adult, Sam got her first dog, and after discovering that her new companion was extremely reactive to other dogs, she immersed herself into the world of animal behavior…and never wanted to leave. Sam said goodbye to her career path in fashion merchandising, and began her work at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington in 2019 helping animals find new homes. Sam was so inspired by the passion and knowledge of those working with and around her, that she jumped at the chance to join the behavior team at the shelter in 2020. After working with a variety of dogs, and a variety of behaviors, Sam received her CPDT-KA in 2021 and she is constantly looking to expand her knowledge, while supporting and enriching the human-animal relationship

Gloria spent the last year as a bottle baby feeder in the neonatal nursery, and a kitten foster, but this year she has really stepped up. Gloria is now the rescue coordinator for bottle baby kittens. She gets the calls from shelters that there are kittens with a life & death deadline. She coordinates with the Nursery Manager to assess room, and has the daunting task of potentially saying "no" if there is no room for more kittens. Not only that, but she also coordinates transport for the babies. This is an immense amount of pressure, but Gloria handles the volunteer position with gusto, compassion and a positive attitude. She is perfect for this position, and is doing a stellar job.

Faith is the Shelter Management Advisor for American Pets Alive! and conducts site visits and responds to crises from other shelters. She began her journey volunteering for APA! in 2009 and in 2011 became the Operations Manager for APA!. In 2016, her role shifted to Facilities, Information, and Legal Services Manager. Faith and her family have fostered over 500 animals since the beginning of her time with APA!. Faith has helped spread the word of the No Kill mission by moving temporarily to Edinburg, Texas and working as the temporary shelter manager at Palm Valley Animal Center. She helped increase their live release rate to almost 50%, up from 37%. Since her return to Austin, she has been taking weekly trips to area shelters in Texas and New Mexico to evaluate intake process, animal flow, and rescue efforts. Faith prides herself in taking home an animal to foster from each shelter she visits.

Shelter Intake Diversion/Community Support Programming (PASS) Manager with Austin Pets Alive! Providing consultations, resources, and strategic support for pets and humans to help keep 10k+ animals from being surrendered to the Texas shelter systems.

Tori Fugate joined the KC Pet Project team in March 2012 – shortly after the organization took over the Kansas City, MO, animal shelter in January 2012. She is a graduate of Drury University in Springfield, MO, with a B.A. in Advertising and minors in Global Studies, Sports Management, and Women & Gender Studies. Tori’s past work experience includes working with the St. Louis Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals, the Kansas City Chiefs, and various retail management positions. Her past non-profit experience includes working with the Missouri Restaurant Association and the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association, and she served on the Kansas City Restaurant Week Committee in 2011.