Kelly Peterson | Board President and Founder. In addition to founding Fences For Fido in 2009, Kelly is the Oregon State Director for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). As an accomplished advocate, Kelly has worked successfully in the Oregon legislature to pass a raft of bills to protect animals, ranging from wildlife and exotics to farm and companion animals. Kelly previously served as the Senior Vice President of State Affairs where she drove and directed the state legislative strategic priorities for The HSUS, working closely with the state directors throughout the country to support and advance animal welfare legislation and engage like-minded citizens in promoting the protection of animals.
Callie Attanasio | Treasurer. Callie joined Fences For Fido in 2017 as a fence-building volunteer. In her professional career, she is a CPA at a public accounting firm. She loves to travel and has been to over 25 countries and counting. When she's not traveling, Callie can be found walking dogs at the Oregon Humane Society or helping hard-to-place animals with Core Paws. She currently has a deaf senior rescue mutt who sleeps all day and an ever-changing assortment of foster animals.
Vince Baker | Information Systems Director. As one of the original co-founders and earliest volunteers of Fence For Fido, Vince serves as crew chief and information systems committee lead. As an engineer for a high-tech company, Vince is able to lead the information systems for Fences For Fido by overseeing the Web site, sign-up systems, contacts management systems, and fundraising software system. His roles for Fences For Fido bring together his key passions of animal welfare, love for building, and service to community.
Melissa Gable | Board Member. Melissa has been working and advocating for companion animals for 25 years. Her career began as a fundraising professional and spokesperson for the Arizona Humane Society in Phoenix, AZ. While in Arizona, Melissa also served as Executive Director for Friends of Animal Care & Control and Public Information Officer at Maricopa County Animal Care and Control. She relocated to Salem, Oregon in 2021 where she was the Director of Marion County Dog Services. Melissa now serves as Communications Coordinator for Marion County's Health & Human Services Department. As part of Fences for Fido, Melissa enjoys helping pet owners and preventing dogs from entering an overworked and crowded shelter system. She is the proud mom of one dog, four cats and two hairless guinea pigs.
Patti Loverink | Fundraising Director. Patti joined the Fences For Fido board in 2011, focusing on marketing and fundraising for the organization and serving today as Fundraising Director. Patti has helped launch innovative programs on behalf of the organization such as Color My World, a project where school children paint dog houses as a way of learning about the plight of chained dogs. Patti also co-formed Unchained Planet, a Fences For Fido project where our organization serves as a mentor for other up and coming organizations around the world.
Cathie Myers | Board Member. Cathie first volunteered for Fences for Fido in 2009 when she and her husband nominated a neighbor’s dog for a fence. Cathie became a client outreach coordinator for Fences for Fido in 2020 and then joined the board in 2021. Cathie has worked for Best Friends Animal Society since 2002. She is currently a senior manager for learning advancement. In that role, she designs and facilitates certification programs in partnership with Southern Utah University which are geared toward helping animal welfare professionals gain the knowledge and skills needed to advance in the field and make positive changes for animals. Cathie served for 6 years as a board member for the Association of Professional Humane Educators and is currently a member of their advisory board.
Telma Pombrol | Chief Materials Officer. Telma Pombrol was born in Connecticut to Cuban parents and lived in Venezuela for about 20 years. She always had a passion for animal welfare and while in Venezuela helped rehab injured wildlife, from an Ocelot kitten that was caught in barbed wire fencing to squirrels, parrots, fawns and even a trio of baby caimans. She earned a degree in Tourism Business Administration and moved back to the U.S. where she started a professional career. She has since left the private sector and now works with the State of Oregon Department of Justice Child Support Division in Salem. She devotes her free time to caring for her furry family and volunteering with the county dog shelter as well as with Fences for Fido where she serves as a client outreach coordinator and chief materials officer.
Jennifer Rackstraw | Board Member. As one of the original co-founders of Fences For Fido, Jennifer has been involved in animal advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels. Since 2003, she has worked as an administrative law judge for the State of Oregon, conducting administrative hearings for agencies, boards, and commissions. Since 2007, she has also served on an Appellate Panel for City of Portland police and firefighter disability benefit cases. She has extensive experience training and mentoring administrative law judges and has presented at multiple conferences regarding administrative law practice. She has a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Animal Law Review, the nation’s oldest law journal devoted exclusively to animal legal issues.
Theo Perez | Board Member. A Warm Springs tribal member and director of Warm Springs Commodities, Theo embodies the definition of a heart of service and compassion, contributing to his community on behalf of Warm Springs Community Action Team, Reservation Impact, Neighbor Impact, and a commitment to overall community health. He is also a small business owner, artist and much more. Theo is also a proud and devoted father of an incredible son. Theo raises the bar when it comes to positive impact and is deeply grounded to his community and offering solutions and resources in everything he does. Fences For Fido is so honored to have Theo as part of our Board. He is truly the very spirit of love in action.
Gina Clemmer | Board Member. Gina is the founder and architect of Clinic HQ software. HQ is a specialized veterinary software for high-volume spay/neuter clinics. She spends her days working with clinics to support their clinic management. She holds a Masters of Science Degree from the University of Iowa where she focused on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). She was a consultant for PetSmart Charities for ten years and launched Clinic HQ in 2011. She is deeply committed to making the world a better place for animals using technology. For the past five years, she’s volunteered for, and coordinated, high volume clinics on Native American reservations (Laguna and Hopi). This is her hobby and passion. Recently, she secured a surgical mobile rig, First Nations Veterinary, through her charity, Charity HQ, to bring high volume spay and neuter clinics to the Warm Springs Reservation and Navajo Nation. Gina is a mom to an amazing daughter and a committed foster mama through One Tail at a Time. Gina lives in Portland and is an enrolled tribal member in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Chelsea Lane | Board Member. Chelsea has dedicated both her professional and personal life to animal advocacy by choosing a career in veterinary medicine, and spending her free time fostering, and volunteering with animal centered orgs, having previously acted as volunteer medical coordinator for a local dog rescue. Chelsea has worked in veterinary medicine as a veterinary assistant on and off since 2007. In 2018, after years of working on the clinical team, she took on the role of Practice Manager at her veterinary clinic in Portland. Overall, her favorite part of veterinary medicine is working with the special needs of senior dogs and cats. Chelsea began volunteering with Fences for Fido through their wellness and spay/neuter clinics, and loves assisting with such a meaningful cause. She shares her home in Portland with 1 lovably imperfect rescue pibble, 1 very bossy cat, and a recent adoption of a puppy from Warm Springs who is quickly outgrowing her older brother!
Becky Robbins | Board Member. Becky first joined Fences for Fido in 2009 as a fence-building volunteer. In addition, for the past 16 years she serves as a foster team lead for the Family Dogs New Life Shelter Foster Dog Program in Portland, OR. With Family Dogs she focuses on adoptions, securing foster families, fundraising and media outreach. Professionally, Becky has a 25-year career in partnership marketing and PR with a focus on leveraging corporate and small business relationships to support the needs of the community. Becky loves to travel the world and run her refurbished furniture store space that supports animals. She shares her home with Henry and Blossom, her rescue pit bulls.