Carla Isenberg – For The Love of Alex

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Carla Isenberg, the program manager of For the love of Alex.

Carla has been with the Love of Alex since 2021. She’s a passionate animal lover and has advocated for the well-being of all creatures, great and small, for her entire life. She also has ten years of experience as a veterinary technician, and her medical knowledge has also been a great asset. 

For the Love of Alex is a nonprofit organization founded in 2013 that provides emergency funding for urgent and lifesaving care of pets of low-income families. Elizabeth, the organization’s founder, ran it by herself for five years until her untimely death. Fortunately, Elizabeth’s friends stepped in to help and have kept the organization going. This demonstrates the power of community and the importance of building solid relationships with those who share the same passion and goals. This collective effort ensured that her legacy lives on.

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Ashley Harkins & Emily Stearns – United Horse Coalition

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Ashley Harkins, the current director of the United Horse Coalition, and Emily Stearns, the program manager of the Equine Welfare Data Collective.

Ashley is a pre-veterinary science graduate from the University of Vermont, focusing on equine science. She has 14 years of experience managing a horse and livestock rehabilitation program and serving as a local certified animal control officer handling neglect and abuse cases. She recognizes the importance of the UHC’s mission and spends her free time with her 28-year-old adopted gelding, Sammy, who helps to instill a love for horses in children and her horse enthusiast husband.

Emily holds an MSC in Equine Science from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She considers herself a horse girl and grew up eventing in Massachusetts. Her experience includes equine research, managing horse farms, animal care and adoption counseling, and teaching at the University of New Hampshire and post-university equine programs. She enjoys riding, traveling, and hiking with her dogs in her free time. Emily is excited to manage the EWDC and to bring this resource to the public.

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Michele Pennington – Stashios

 

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Michele Pennington, Founder of Stashios.

Michelle Pennington, the founder of Stashios, is an animal lover and was previously an elementary school teacher in Seattle for eight years. After having her daughter, she moved to Minneapolis and went back to teaching, but found it difficult to balance her job and being a parent. She eventually retired from teaching and started her own company, Stashios.

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Holly Ganz – AnimalBiome

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Holly Ganz, the Chief Science Officer of AnimalBiome.

Holly has a PhD from UC Davis, an MS from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and a BS from George Washington University. She has 20+ years of experience studying the interaction between microbes and their hosts. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her dogs in the East Bay hillsides.

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Kristina Bergsten – The Animal Law Firm

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Kristina Bergsten, founder of The Animal Law Firm.

 

Kristina has been practicing animal law for about ten years and started her career in Media, in Pennsylvania. She was working for a family law firm and decided to take on environmental and animal law cases. in 2017, she moved to Colorado and started her own law firm. She started with just one office in Denver and has further since expanded to multiple states. This firm is focused on creative and innovative thinking to apply old legal doctrines to animal-related fact patterns.

 

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Karrie Noterman – Wingspan Parrot Sanctuary

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats we had the pleasure of speaking with Karrie Noterman, manager and owner of Wingspan Parrot Sanctuary.

Karrie fell in love with birds at the age of 9, and has been involved with birds ever since. She has worked and volunteered at different organizations related to birds such as SeaWorld, Parrot Jungle and Gardens and the National Aviary, which has given her a wide perspective on birds, from training and shows to zoo and exhibit management. She believes that parrots are not domesticated animals, but wild animals that have been tamed, and that understanding this is important for providing them with the best environment and meeting their needs. She advocates for people to consider the consequences of owning a parrot before bringing them into their homes.

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Meghan Curtis & Marcy Thrash – Project V.E.T.S.

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats we had the pleasure of speaking with Megan Curtis, Executive Director of Project V.E.T.S, and Marcy Thrash, Program Director.

 

Megan has a lifelong passion for wildlife conservation and animal welfare. She has prior experience in foundation development and special events, as well as project management, contract management, and sales operations. She has volunteered with Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and has traveled to Central America and Africa for wildlife research and conservation projects.

 

Marcy manages the inventory, communicates with partner organizations, oversees warehouse staff and volunteers, and helps with a wide range of other jobs. She also owns and operates a therapeutic pet massage practice and works part-time for a small animal practice. Currently, she lives in Longmont, Colorado with her husband, two children and 3 dogs. Read more

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Betsy Gamberino- The SPCA of Ocala

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats we had the pleasure of speaking with Betsy Gamberino, Vice President of the SPCA of Ocala. Betsy grew up in rural Pennsylvania where she was active in showing Quarter Horses as well as volunteering for several animal and agricultural organizations.  She attended Penn State University obtaining Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Animal Science and Biology.  She began a career in Science working as a Research Support Assistant for the Penn State University School of Medicine in Hershey, PA.  In 1996, she moved to Ocala, Florida and continued her career in science at the University of Florida Department of Psychiatry. Following her work at the University of Florida, she accepted a position an Instructor of Equine Science and Biology at the College of Central Florida.  Five years ago she met Lilly Baron, the President of the SPCA of Ocala, and joined the organization becoming a Board Member and an advocate for animal welfare.  Currently, she lives on her farm in Ocala and remains an active equestrian while enjoying her 10 cats, her dog Pearl, 4 Guinea Pigs Larry, Ted, Bandit, parker and 3 horses. Read more

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Kristen Baltrum- Annie and Millie’s Place

All My Children Wear Fur Coats had the pleasure of speaking with Kristen Baltrum, founder of Annie and Millie’s Place. Kristen has a Master of Arts from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN and has served for almost three decades in Christian Public Leadership. Following the death of her sister, Annie, who experienced homelessness with her dog Millie, Kristen started Annie and Millie’s Place as an outreach to those who are often denied services due to their unwillingness to surrender their animal. Kristen’s own transformation story of understanding how important the human-animal bond is for those whose home is the streets inspires her to help others have the same change of heart. Through her willingness to speak openly about the struggles her family experienced, she hopes their story can be a change agent in human-animal services. Kristen and her husband Rob have two adult children, and currently live in Colorado with their two English Bulldogs. Read more

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Toby Wisneski- Leave No Paws Behind

Leave No Paws Behind is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit corporation located in California. They are an all breed, all foster- based rescue, specializing in seniors, terminal and end of life animals, and pets with special needs. Leave No Paws Behind was founded in June 2011 by Toby Wisneski who wanted to make a difference in the lives of senior animals abandoned in the shelters. Toby  had a soft spot in her heart for the aging animals who, after living so many years with the only humans they ever loved, suddenly found themselves abandoned and left to die on a cold shelter floor alone and wondering. Toby, who herself was the human mommy to a beautiful senior dog of 13 years, could not believe the number of senior pets that found themselves suddenly in peril at a time when they needed their humans the most. Read more

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