Board of Directors

Kathleen Olson, CAWA, President

Kathleen is Executive Director at Purrfect Pals Cat Sanctuary & Adoption Centers. She rejoined the board for a second term in April 2018. She has served as Secretary and on the Federation Strategic Planning and Legislative Committees and as Chairperson of the Membership & Fundraising Committee. She was Executive Director for the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County,  March 2007 – March 2017 and previously was the Executive Director at Point Defiance Zoological Society for eight years. She earned her Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) designation in  2012 and was re-certified in 2015, 2018 and 2021.  Pit bulls,  senior dogs and cats are her favorite pets and she fosters hospice and medical cats as well. She served as Annual Conference Chairperson 2020-2022 for the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement. She is an active member of the Pet Alliance of Washington and an Animal Rescue Volunteer with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

Laura Clark, Vice President

Laura has worked at the Whatcom Humane Society for 15+ years and has been the executive director since 2009.  She describes her job as the “best job in the world.”  Laura has extensive experience in animal sheltering, animal control, fundraising, volunteer management, community outreach, capital campaigns and program/budget development.  Laura is currently the co-chair of the Federation’s legislative committee and has a strong desire and commitment to work on improving legislation that protects domestic, wild and farm animals on a local, state and federal level.  Laura lives in rural Whatcom County and shares her home with her husband, dogs, cats and chickens.

Nanette McCann, Secretary

Nanette McCann joined Homeward Pet Adoption Center in Woodinville WA as the Executive Director in December of 2018.  For Nanette, each day presents a new opportunity to positively impact the lives of dogs, cats and those who care for them through her personal passion and more than 30 years of professional non-profit experience.  In her leisure time, Nanette travels Washington and Oregon photographing lighthouses, mountains and bees with her partner, Lori, five year old daughter, Bryndis, and two canine kids, Frankie and Ursula.

Amy Ferguson, Treasurer

Amy Ferguson is the executive Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project, one of the first HQHVSN clinics in Washington. Amy was the executive director of ARF of Everett and Pawsitive Alliance before working at FCSNP . Prior to her career in the non-profit sector, Amy worked in health insurance. Amy sits on the board of an animal rescue nonprofit in addition to her board role at Washington Federation.  Amy, her husband, Jonathan, three cats, and exuberant dog, Tally, live in downtown Everett and occasionally share their home with foster kittens.

Bonne VeVea

Bonne founded MEOW Cat Rescue in 1997 and continues to serve as Executive Director. In 2011, she became a Co-Founding Board Member of Community Cat Coalition, an organization whose mission is to educate, mentor and support the public in improving the quality of life for free roaming cats. Bonne was awarded the 2013 Humane Animal Welfare Award by the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association (WSVMA) in recognition for her “strong compassion, dedication to and advocacy for felines and personal attention to their medical care.” Ever a champion of the UnderCat, her family includes six cats, some with special needs. Bonne coined MEOW’s motto, “all nine lives are precious” and lives that motto each day.

Ann Graves

Ann Graves is the former Director of the Seattle Animal Shelter, retiring in 2021. She began her career as a volunteer with her local humane society around 1990. After making a career change and obtaining her BS in Zoology Ann was hired in 2000 by Seattle Animal Shelter (aka animal control) as an ACOI working in the kennels. Over the next 20 years Ann has worked in various positions in the shelter, the field as an officer,  manager and director. Ann has had extensive training in animal cruelty investigation, is past president of WACA and currently on the board of directors of the Washington Federation of Animal Care & Control Agencies. Ann has been an instructor at the WACA Academy since 2003 and continues to volunteer when she is able with the ASPCA, HSUS, HSI and Purrfect Pals. While Ann didn’t see this career path coming 25 years ago when she decided to work with animals for a living, she can’t imagine any better path or journey.

Chris Federlein

Christina began volunteering with a local cat shelter shortly after retirement and served a term on their Board of Directors where she led a team to review and update their bylaws, developed job descriptions for board positions, chaired a committee that managed one of their two major annual fund raisers, and worked with a CPA firm specializing in non-profit accounting to begin preparation for a formal audit. Chris then became involved with a group of local rescuers who wanted to start an organization to focus on helping free roaming cats in the community and helped launch the Community Cat Coalition in 2012. She also volunteers for Homeward Pet Adoption Center.

Laura Henderson

After 20 years working in the for-profit world, Laura transferred her skills and experience to the cause of ending animal cruelty. She has been Executive Director of Pasado’s Safe Haven since 2013. In addition to her current non-profit position, Laura has worked for both Fortune 100 companies and small start-ups, but the common thread was that she always had roles driving new initiatives and programs with diverse teams.  Laura has deep experience in marketing, branding, public affairs, strategic planning and communications.  She also spent three years working as a legislative aide to a U.S. Senator in Washington D.C.  Laura graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Washington’s Honors Program with a B.A. w/ Honors in Political Science. She also holds an M.B.A. from the University of Washington’s Foster School. A vegan for several years, Laura is mom to Zandia (an adaptation of Sandia, which means “watermelon” in Spanish), a street dog she rescued while living in El Salvador in 2010.

Sarah Hock

Sarah Hock has more than 16 years of experience in the animal welfare field, including executive leadership, program development, fundraising, capital campaigns, strategic planning and organizational development. Before accepting the executive director position with Joint Animal Services, she worked for the Arizona Humane Society as director of veterinary services, where she oversaw three facilities, including a mobile veterinary unit. Previously, Sarah worked as the regional adoption program manager for PetSmart Charities, the executive director of the Humane Society of Central Arizona, and the education programs manager for the Arizona Animal Welfare League and SPCA. Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts and master’s degrees in nonprofit studies from Arizona State University. Sarah was one of the first animal welfare professionals in the country to participate and complete her Executive Leadership Certificate with Best Friends Animal Society and Southern Utah University.

Christopher Ross

Christopher has over 25 years of leadership positions in service-based organizations, delivering strategic planning, relationship management, and always anchored in the art of change management. Christopher began his career with Starbucks in 1991 when they had only 87 stores, and left 16 years later when they topped more than 15,000 stores worldwide. Since then, he has served as CEO, COO, and VP for nonprofit and for-profit organizations with increasing complexity levels. In 2009, Christopher pivoted to nonprofits, choosing to focus on mission-based work. Most recently, Christopher was the COO for Compass Housing Alliance, a local nonprofit focused on providing housing and services for low-income individuals and shelters for homeless persons. Now at Seattle Humane, Christopher is shifting gears to help address another challenge dear to his heart, the care and sustainment of animals in our region and across the country. Christopher has always had two constant through-threads in his life: being a caregiver, and his love and devotion to animals. Those two elements have defined him over the decades. Joining Seattle Humane becomes his career capstone, allowing him to bring the two defining aspects together with a great organization. Christopher shares his life with his husband and two golden retrievers. When not working, you can usually find the four of them walking around Seward Park.

Esteban Rodriguez

Esteban Rodriguez is the Seattle Animal Shelter Executive Director. He has been in the animal welfare industry for over a decade and takes pride that he has been able to work all components of animal welfare, from kennel technician to executive director. He has a wealth of experience from previous employment, such as Austin Animal Center, PIMA Animal care center, and Dallas Animal services.
Esteban is excited to make Seattle Animal Shelter a more equitable environment for the people they serve. He is a believer in the HASS program, to better the lives of pets, and people that love them. He is delighted that animal sheltering continues to evolve in a more progressive manner. He believes for more evolution, there needs to be more community-based services, in order to aid all communities.

Amanda Wernert

Amanda Wernert is the CEO for Blue Mountain Humane Society, joining the organization in March 2022. Prior to working at BMHS, she worked at PAWS in Lynnwood, WA as a project manager and the SF SPCA in San Francisco, CA as the Rescue and Welfare Programs Coordinator. Before transitioning to the nonprofit world, Amanda worked in high-tech in the Seattle area for 20+ years. While working for for-profit organizations, Amanda volunteered for numerous animal welfare organizations and served on the board of the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation. Amanda lives in Walla Walla with six old toothless chihuahuas and one old toothless terrier, in addition to an ever-revolving mix of foster kittens.

Emily Sprong

Emily has been the Executive Director of Seattle Area Feline Rescue (SAFe Rescue) since 2018. Her first volunteer and employment experiences were with vets, kennels, and feral cat organizations, but after receiving a degree in psychology from Williams College and a master’s degree in wildlife biology from the University of Vermont, she worked for environmentally-focused nonprofits for many years. Emily was excited to return to her animal welfare roots when the opportunity to lead SAFe Rescue came along. She enjoys connecting with other animal welfare professionals through groups like WA Fed, as well as championing animal welfare causes within community and civic groups, like the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce where she also serves on the Board. Emily shares her life and home with her husband, two teens, one dog, one cat, and one ball python. When not at work, she can often be found hiking, attending the theater, and playing ice hockey.

Tim Anderson, CAWA

Tim Anderson has been with Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) since 2011, working as a front line supervisor, Acting Manager and in my current role as the Lead Animal Control Sergeant where he leads a team of animal control officers and animal care staff. Tim began his animal control career as an ACO for Kitsap Humane Society before moving on to Pierce County Animal Control in 2006 until 2011. Tim earned his CAWA certification in 2022 and is a Fellow at University of Wisconsin – Madison Shelter Management Program. Tim also serves on the Washington Animal Control Association Board and is the ACO academy coordinator for the Washington State Criminal justice Training Commission.