Susan is a graduate of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, is past president of the Texas Academy of Veterinary Practice. She has served 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.

G. Elaine Acker

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 currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross of Central Texas, one of Pets America's first partners. 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.

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

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Sara Boone Hartley, City of Austin

Sara has worked with the City of Austin for nearly eight years, including roles as Community Preparedness Program Manager with the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and as a professional communicator with the Public Works Department. Throughout her career, Sara has worked numerous City departments, government agencies and community partners to plan, prepare, and respond to potential disasters in the Central Texas community. Her skills include volunteer coordination, public education and outreach, media relations and collaborative plan writing.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology at a little University down the road in College Station – which she knows earns her no points in Austin, but is proud of none the less.
Sara became involved with community preparedness in the spring of 2006, working on projects such as Hurricane evacuation plans (rolling out the red carpet in Austin to those from the Texas coast line), pandemic flu planning, community relations and consensus building and critical incident media. Sara also coordinated and chaired the Central Texas Citizen Corps Council – an umbrella organization uniting community partners in preparing for disaster, especially through volunteer efforts.

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 savvy.

MEET PETS AMERICA'S NEW CEO, RACHEL A. KOWALSKI

A Note from Pets America Founder Elaine Acker…

BOARD OF DIRECTORS