A Note from Pets America CEO Elaine Acker…

Emergency managers know from experience that the number one reason people refuse to evacuate during a disaster is that pets are part of the family, and they are unwilling to abandon their family in a disaster. I watched the stories from Hurricane Katrina, horrified that no one had yet established a system that would allow people evacuate with their pets. And, even when victims of Hurricane Rita were allowed to bring their pets with them, there was no system in place to house and care for those pets.

Pets America celebrated its second anniversary in December 2007, and I took a few moments to reflect on the awesome progress the organization has made in a very short time. In 2007 alone, Pets America:

• Wrote and published anew Pet First Aid & Disaster Response Guide that teaches pet owners to care for their pets in emergencies,
• Created and distributed 3,000 pet-preparedness workbooks at a major Homeland Security Conference.
• Presented options for pet-friendly evacuations and sheltering (keeping people and pets together) at the Hurricane Conference in Galveston
• Facilitated the Shelter Hub disaster exercise at the Texas State Animal Resource Team Summit in Houston,
• Trained 12 new Pet First Aid & Disaster response instructors at the Southwest Veterinary Symposium in Fort Worth,
• Trained 140+ individuals in pet first aid workshops,
• Provided more than 200 sets of pet oxygen masks to emergency responders nationwide, including California, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, Kansas, Florida, and Texas.

And in 2008, we'll be ready to further expand the programs nationally through a partnership with the Emergency Care and Safety Institute.

I am committed to helping save the whole family during a disaster -- people and pets. I'm also committed to helping keep pets safe by training pet owners in pet first aid.

We'll reach our goals with the support of thousands of individuals who care about pets as much as we do. Donations in any amount help implement critical programs, and we deeply appreciate your support!

Sincerely yours,

Elaine Acker

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

G. Elaine Acker, President & CEO, Pets America

Board Chair

Elaine Acker founded Pets America in the fall of 2005 to ensure that the hard lessons of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita led to positive changes for pets and their families affected by disasters. Through Pet First Aid & Disaster Response Workshops she teaches pet owners how to deal with life-threatening emergencies as well as how to create effective disaster plans to protect the whole family, including pets. She also works with governmental agencies to provide animal rescue equipment for first-responders and helps ensure that pets are included in community disaster plans. Elaine works to achieve Pets America's mission through partnerships among individuals, foundations, universities, animal welfare organizations, and state, local, and federal government groups to fund and implement critical disaster preparedness initiatives. She holds a Master’s degree, and has 16 years of broad-based management experience. An avid outdoors woman, she has nearly two decades of experience as an outdoor writer, and as an instructor, editor, and producer of educational and public relations/marketing materials. She also holds numerous certificates in National Incident Management Systems and Disaster Preparedness. She shares her home with Mina, a feisty "Texas Terrier" and kitties Freddie and Lamont.

Susan Culp, DVM, Past Chair, TVMA Disaster Preparedness Committee

Susan is a graduate of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, is past president of the Texas Academy of Veterinary Practice. She serves as Disaster Preparedness Coordinator for the TVMA, creating a network of veterinarians willing to serve their counties and/or cities in animal health emergencies. She has training in National Incident Management Systems from the Emergency Management Institute, and in Disaster Preparedness from FEMA, and served in a primary role during responses to the 2005 hurricanes that affected the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast regions. Susan formerly owned the Hiway 620 Animal Hospital, and she and her husband Heath have an extended family of three dogs, four cats, and one vocal parrot.

Nicole Daspit, Director of Development and Outreach, Austin Groups for the Elderly

Nicole has a decade of experience in development directs all fundraising efforts for Austin Groups for the Elderly, which offers much-needed programs for caregivers and the elderly and their families. Nicole is also a former Board Member of EarthShare of Texas, promoting workplace giving. As a military child, she moved extensively, and has lived through earthquakes in Japan, hurricanes in Hawaii, and massive snowstorms on the East Coast of the U.S. She understands and appreciates the need to be prepared in a disaster. She shares her home with Olive and Dill, two tabby kitties with a taste for adventure!

Michael Guerra, Chief Operating Officer, Capital Area Food Bank

Treasurer

Michael manages all external relations for Austin’s third largest nonprofit, the Capital Area Food Bank. He has a professional background in fundraising, and also spent nearly twenty years in full-time pastoral ministry at the congregational and regional level. He serves as an adjunct faculty member at St. Edward’s University, teaching social ethics and non-profit management. Holding advanced degrees in both theology and strategic planning, Michael also serves as a consultant to various nonprofit organizations regionally and nationally. In January 2008 he was awarded the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Fundraiser of the Year Award. He serves on the board of Zachary Scott Theater, and on Advisory Councils for Greenlights for NonProfit Success and for St. Edward’s University’s New College program.

Deb Zoran, DVM, Associate Professor, Chief of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Texas A&M

Dr.  Zoran is an associate professor and chief of small animal internal medicine in the Department of Veterinary Small Animal Clinical Sciences at Texas A&M University.She is a 1984 graduate of Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation, she entered private clinical practice in the Phoenix, Arizona area until returning in 1987 to Iowa State University for her small animal internal medicine residency. She completed a Master’s degree and became a Diplomate of the ACVIM – Small Animal Internal Medicine during her time there. In 1992, she moved to Texas A&M University to undertake a PhD in Nutrition, and since that time, Dr. Zoran has been a member of the clinical faculty in the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at Texas A&M University where she is actively involved with clinical, teaching, and research activities in small animal gastroenterology, nutrition, and feline medicine.

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Susan Adair, University of Texas External Relations and Past Chair, American Red Cross of Central Texas

Susan is currently the coordinator of external relations in the development office of The University of Texas. She is also a graduate of Leadership Austin, and is past Chair of the American Red Cross of Central Texas. She will be able to advise on ways Pets America and the Red Cross can best coordinate efforts to serve both people and pets.

Griffin Davis, Vice President of Marketing, Market Hardware

Griffin Davis is the Vice President of Marketing for Market Hardware, a Web marketing firm. Griffin has served as an officer in several successful Austin start-ups including Balcones Resources and 13 Colonies Software. He previously worked on Capitol Hill for United States Senator Alan K. Simpson.

Griffin is a founding board member and current Chairman of the Town Lake Trail Foundation. He has an MBA from UT Austin with a concentration in Marketing and a BA with honors in history from the University of Virginia. He enjoys politics, running, travel, fishing, scuba diving, and playing with his three dogs.

Rebecca E. Acker, Safety Inspector, Texas Eastman

Becky has 10 years safety experience in a broad spectrum of emergency response. Her training includes fire suppression, basic EMT, HazMat, and swift water rescue. Her team uses the National Incident Management System model. Becky also serves as an Emergency Response Team trainer and her experience is beneficial in establishing Pets America response systems, designing volunteer training modules, implementing training programs, and conducting response drills. Becky lives with two shiny schnauzers,Tuscon and Treavor, and countless country cats.

Randy Dickson, Managing Consultant, Critical Interaction Associates

Randy has served as a responder and trainer in the field of crisis intervention and trauma mitigation for more than 15 years. He is a graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, a Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress, and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. In his current role, Randy travels throughout the United States providing training and consultation to emergency services professionals in the concepts of critical incident response and management, crisis intervention and peer support, trauma mitigation and victim assistance. In addition to his prior experience with the Crisis Response Unit of the Austin Police Department and the Victim Services Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Randy has served nationally as a volunteer responder in the aftermath of large-scale disasters.

Randy, his wife Leisa (also an emergency management professional) and 14-year-old son reside near Austin with their two Border Collies, Duke and Duchess. Duchess and Randy are registered as a Pet Partners® team with the Delta Society, and Randy is currently involved in the development of K9 Interaction Teams™, a non-profit organization that will utilize animals and their handlers in efforts to mitigate the traumatic impact of crime, critical incidents and disasters.

Lydia Saldaña, Director of Communications, Texas Parks and Wildlife

 

Lydia has more than 20 years experience in the communications field in state government and as a broadcast journalist. As Director of Communications for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Lydia is responsible for all facets of agency communications, marketing, media relations, education, and outreach. She is an ex-officio member of the Texas Travel Industry Association Board of Directors and currently serves on the national Board of Directors for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. She is an active member and former board member of the Association for Conservation Information and is a member of the Austin chapter of the National Association of Government Communicators. She also serves on the Advisory Council for the Conservation History Association of Texas. Lydia will bring her extensive communications experience to her Advisory role with Pets America, ensuring that the organization conveys an integrated marketing message in all its public relations, development, and media messages. She often vacationa with her cats.

 

Denise Meikel, Deputy CEO, American Youthworks

 

American Youthworks (AYW) is an Austin-area nonprofit serving at-risk youth. Denise first served as the organization’s Development Officer from 1990-2000. She left to become the Director of Development, Marketing, and Communications for Bat Conservation International where she also became an accomplished “bat wrangler.” In 2003, she returned to AYW, joining the executive staff. Denise has been on the Board of Directors of the Balcones Council Camp Fire USA, which serves five Texas counties, for four years and is currently Vice President. A graduate of The University of Texas, Denise will support Pets America with her considerable development and marketing saavy.