Pet Haven Team - Pet Haven of Minnesota

Staff

Kerry D'Amato

Executive Director

Long-time animal welfare advocate Kerry D’Amato is honored to serve as Pet Haven’s executive director. She sees the challenges facing animal welfare, both at the Pet Haven and throughout our community, becoming increasingly complex. At the same time, she sees more opportunities than ever to save pets’ lives. Kerry’s devotion to animals began early in her life. In high school, she worked in animal care at the Denver Dumb Friends League, where she saw how challenging the shelter environment could be for companion animals.

She quickly understood the impact foster-based rescues could have—giving second chances and saving animals’ lives. Kerry went on to campaign for improved animal welfare through legislative action and rescue work in New York, Ohio, and Minnesota.In addition to her work in animal welfare, Kerry has more than 20 years of experience in special events and marketing, fundraising and development for nonprofit and political organizations, and project management. Her passion for animal welfare, broad base of experience, and strong relationship-building skills are an ideal fit for Pet Haven. Driven to rescue, Kerry often spends her free time helping homeless and feral felines thru TNR, fostering and re-homing. She also pursues a yoga practice, enjoys good food and conversation with friends, spending time at “the lake,” and being at home with her family and their rescued feline companions.

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Annette Agner

Operations Director

As an animal lover, Annette has been inspired by her volunteer work as Dog Foster, Supplies Coordinator and Board Member with Pet Haven. Beginning her Pet Haven involvement in 2018, she explains that “Pet Haven had me at hello!” Annette is excited to embark on her role as Pet Haven’s Director of Operations. With more than 30-years senior management experience leading highly effective teams as Director of Operations and Controller in various industries, Annette is eager to actively broaden her knowledge of animal welfare.

She looks forward to transferring her skillset to support Pet Haven’s vital mission of saving pets’ lives and improving the lives of pets and people in our community. Described as a creative problem solver with broad business acumen and a great sense of humor, Annette brings a holistic approach to operational development and management. Impressed by the expertise and unwavering dedication of Pet Haven’s staff and volunteers, Annette is honored to join the team, roll up her sleeves and work to support the organization’s amazing growth and future success. Annette and her husband, Jim live in Eden Prairie. Over the years, several large breed rescues have found their forever home with Jim and Annette. Currently 3 Pet Haven alum dogs; Yammi, Eli and Kuma are cherished members of her family. Kratos, their fluffy grand-puppy was adopted by their son Ian and rounds out the Agner pack. In her free time Annette enjoys reading, swimming and family movie time cuddling with one (or all) of her fur babies.

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Savannah Johnston

Vet Care Manager

Savannah Johnston joined the Pet Haven team in 2021 and serves as the Vet Care Manager. She has a background in private clinic work as a Certified Veterinary Technician and in rescue work. In college, she spent time working in an animal shelter and fostering cats and knew rescue work was where she would always feel most at home. Joining the team at Pet Haven allows her to combine her medical training with her passion for helping animals find their forever home!

Savannah knew from a very young age that her life would always revolve around animals. Growing up, her family rescued many animals, participated in rescue fundraisers and were always advocating for animal welfare in whatever ways they could. Savannah’s family is a very important part of her life and she is grateful to spend much of her free time with them. She also spends time with her friends exploring the outdoors and trying new coffee shops.

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Molly Larson

Volunteer and Events Manager

Molly Larson joined the Pet Haven team in 2023 and serves as the Volunteer and Events Manager. Molly’s background includes event planning, fundraising, marketing, volunteer management, and operations management. She began fostering in 2013 and instantly felt a pull to get more involved. In 2015 she hosted a 5k for Secondhand Hounds which became a successful yearly event. In 2019 she joined Coco’s Heart Dog Rescue as their Event, Fundraising, and Program Coordinator and fell in love with working fulltime at a foster based rescue.

She looks forward to growing with Pet Haven and continuing to advocate for animals. Molly also teaches yoga at Bodhi Studios in Prescott, WI. She lives in River Falls with her 2 dogs Diego and Doris and spends her free time with them going on hikes, playing frisbee, and relaxing in the country.

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Ashley Marks

Social Media Manager

Ashley Marks is Pet Haven’s Social Media Manager. Her role focuses on buidling awareness of Pet Haven and its mission through creative and impactful content and images. Ashley joined the Pet Haven team in 2017 as a special events volunteer. She has also opened her home to foster dogs and helped with foster outreach. Ashley’s background includes event services, operations management, and organizational development. Ashley has had a life-long passion for animals- she likes to say it’s in her genes. Many of her family members are those crazy animal people.

Her other interests include going to concerts, fishing, and being creative. Ashley shares her home with her partner, Brian, their two Chihuahuas named Frank & Beans!

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Katie Wernecke

Animal Care Assistant

Growing up Katie always enjoyed animals but found her passion for veterinary medicine in high school. Since then, IKaite has worked in many aspects of the field including shelter, community, and emergency medicine. Outside of work, Katie enjoys hanging out with her family, both human and furry. She has four animals of her own: two dogs, Tanner and Charlie, and two cats, Barrett and Toby. Kaite is currently in school at the University of Minnesota Veterinary program. When she has downtime, she enjoys reading as well as painting and gardening. Katie is very excited to join the Pet Haven family and we are thrilled she is part of our growing team!

Board of Directors

Marcella McIntyre

President

Marcella joined the Board in 2018 and has served as the Board President since June 2020. Animals have always been a large part of Marcella’s life and she believes life is better with a pet. She started volunteering with rescue organizations in college and previously volunteered with Pet Haven from 2007-2013.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Marcella moved to Minnesota in 2005 and lives with her husband, Kyle, and two children, Lily and James. They share their home with three rescue pets, Ozzy, a hound mix, and Jack and Kevin, both black cats. Marcella is corporate counsel for a software company in Minneapolis. In her free time, Marcella likes to read, hike, go to concerts and watch her kids' soccer and hockey games.

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Kate Mudge

Vice-President

Kate is currently serving as the VP of the board of directors and was previously employed as the ED of Pet Haven. Kate is excited to bring her ideas, energy, and love for animals to support the incredible work of Pet Haven volunteers. Kate lives on a hobby farm in Western MN and has dreams of converting her pole barn into a massive dog retreat!

With over 18 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Kate brings her operational know-how and love for animals to Pet Haven.

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Jenny Jurek

Secretary

Jenny Jurek joined the Pet Haven Board of Directors in 2013. Jenny has been involved in animal rescue and volunteering as long as she can remember and began volunteering actively in Minnesota dog rescue in 2005. After joining Pet Haven as a volunteer in 2008, she held various coordinator positions before becoming Co-Director of the Dog Division in 2011 and Director of the Dog Division in 2012.

Jenny is passionate about responsible animal rescue and care, and believes strongly in the human/animal bond as well as working human/animal partnerships. She does therapy work with her TDI-certified dog, Riley. Jenny has a background and degrees in business, music, and history. Professionally, she is a Senior Account Manager for an IT Managed Services company. Jenny shares her home with 3 adopted dogs and constant foster dogs.

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Jack Novak

Treasurer

Jack joined the Pet Haven Board of Directors in 2017 and is currently serving as Treasurer. His first experience with Pet Haven was in 2016 when he and his wife, Nicole, adopted their first dog, a black lab mix named Penelope. Shortly after, the two began fostering dogs as well (though Penelope would prefer that she get all the attention). Professionally, Jack is an auditor for a public accounting firm. He has a CPA and received his bachelor’s degree and his masters in accountancy from the University of Minnesota.

Lucinda Winter

Board Member

Lucinda Winter is an award-winning writer, producer and senior manager who’s played an active role in the Twin Cities media community for more than 25 years. In 2017 she founded Alpha Bravo Communications, the wheelhouse for her current writing, producing and account management work for a growing list of clients. From 2005 to 2017 Lucinda served as executive director at Minnesota Film and TV, Minnesota’s non-profit film commission charged with attracting new film, television, commercial and digital business to the state.

During her tenure Ms. Winter secured more than $25 million in state incentive funds and attracted more than $100 million in feature film, TV and commercial spending to Minnesota from studios and networks including HBO, Netflix, Fox Searchlight, Amazon Prime, Warner Bros and Anonymous Content. Previous to that post, Lucinda spent more than a decade in creative and management positions at Blue Earth Pictures, a Twin Cities-based production studio. While at Blue Earth she wrote and produced videos for a roster of corporate clients including Jostens, 3M, Caribou Coffee, Buffalo Wild Wings, Target, Best Buy, Mayo Clinic and Allina Health System. Working independently, she produced TV programming in the U.S., Europe and Asia, successfully leading multi-cultural production teams and completing projects in six countries. Lucinda graduated from Michigan State University’s Honors College with a degree in advertising. She currently volunteers as a tutor with the children’s literacy non-profit Reading Partners and is a member of the Twin Cities Business Women’s Network.

More about Lucinda...

Dr. Katie Cartledge

Board Member

Katie joined the Pet Haven Board of Directors in 2020. She is a veterinarian and graduate of the University of Minnesota and currently practices in the Twin Cities. Katie was very excited about the opportunity to be a part of the Pet Haven team. For the past several years Katie has also volunteered with Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue to offer veterinary care during their wellness clinics. She is a co-Team Lead for the Street Dog Coalition which provides free medical care to pets of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

In her free time, Katie enjoys rowing with the Minneapolis Rowing Club, visiting local craft breweries, good food, traveling, and flower gardening. Katie and her wife, Colby, share their home with their two dogs Goose and Marta, and their four cats Ed, Louise, Chad, and Marlow.

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Jen Sposeto

Board Member

Jen Sposeto joined the Pet Haven Board of Directors in 2020. Jen has been active with foster-based rescue organizations in the Twin Cities for the past five years – event coordinating, fundraising and fostering cats. She is a proud cat mom to Franklin and Holly. When she is not taking care of her #1 priority – snuggling with her cats – she enjoys traveling, bike riding, and spending time at her family cabin. Sometimes, when the cats are sleeping, she pays attention to her husband, Andy. When she must leave her cats, she goes to work for Best Buy, where she is a Marketing Director.

Jen is a 2x graduate of the University of Minnesota and a die-hard Gopher. She believes that every animal deserves a good home and to be loved and is committed to supporting all the amazing work Pet Haven does.

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Elijah Berg

Board Member

Growing up in Plymouth, MN, Elijah's family always had dogs. In fact, for many years they had three dogs. Everyone in Elija's family had a love of animals and it is this connection to dogs that leads Elijah to join the Pet Haven Board of Directors and impact the lives of pets and people for the better. After attending the University of Minnesota, Elijah achieved his degree in Psychology and soon after started a career in Human Resources where he has been for 20 years.

His excitement for being on the board starts with being able to contribute HR experience to an organization whose mission is to partner people and animals to find a forever home. He feels very strongly that animals bring so much enrichment to people's lives and wants to be a part of helping that come to be. Elijah has 3 beautiful dogs - Truman, Ellie, and Carter.

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Monika McDole-Russell

Board Member

Monika McDole-Russell joined the Pet Haven Board of Directors in 2021. An animal lover since receiving a sleek Siamese kitten at the age of 3 (whom she promptly named "Fluffy"), Monika has been a passionate supporter of animal advocacy, Trap-Neuter-Return, and ending pet overpopulation since she was a teenager.

Upon moving to Minnesota three years ago, she was excited to discover Pet Haven and its mission and is thrilled to be on the Board. When she is not doting on her feline fur babies - Remy, d'Artagnan, and Tissot - Monika works as a Senior Manager for a medical device company based in the Twin Cities. She enjoys spending her free time with her cats and her husband Sean. Any remaining free time is spent reading, traveling, and preparing or eating good food. Monika's dream is to see the end of pet overpopulation and animal testing in her lifetime.

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Maren Willette

Board Member

Maren joined Pet Haven in 2015 and since joining has loved volunteering through providing support as the Dog Adoption Coordinator, helping out at partner rescue clinics, assisting with transports, and putting on monthly nail trim clinics. Most recently, she joined the Pet Haven Board and is excited to continue volunteering and supporting Pet Haven and the organization's mission, vision and values. Maren currently has three rescue pets in her family, two dogs and one cat, and is looking forward to rescuing farm animals in the future!

Janet Watson

Board Member

We are so excited to have Janet Watson on our Board of Directors. She and her husband John are part of the Pet Haven Family having adopted their perfect pooch Shadow from us! Janet has a long history in philanthropy and support of the Animal Rescue and Welfare community. We are incredibly grateful for her knowledge and expertise she brings to our board.

Marta Barnett

Board Member

Marta joined the Pet Haven Board in March 2023. Her first experience with Pet Haven was in 2013 when she adopted Izzy (fka Josie), a shepherd mix from Red Lake Reservation. Marta attempted fostering in 2016, but she immediately "foster failed" when she met Daisy, a tripawd shepherd mix. In an attempt to redeem herself, she took Daisy through a therapy dog training, and they volunteered at Tubman for a couple of years till the pandemic shut everything down. Marta has volunteered for various organizations, including Common Ground Meditation Center, Friends of Lake Hiawatha, and BestPrep.

She has volunteered with Pet Haven in varied roles, including data-entry and foster dog-walker. Marta works at Ecolab in Regulatory Affairs and is an experienced IT professional with a strong background in business process management, organizational change and project delivery.

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Division Managers

Jenny Jurek

Dog Division Manager

More about Jenny...

Merry Sawdey

Co- Dog Division Manager

Bio coming shortly

Rachel Kerkowski

Cat Division Manager

Rachel Korkowski is Pet Haven's Cat Division Manager She started her foster journey with another organization in May 2021, then found Pet Haven in July 2021 and loved the organization! She became a foster mentor for cat fosters in November 2021. Her favorite groups to foster are kittens and pregnant moms, but she also enjoys working with undersocialized cats and the occasional problem-free adult cat when needing a break from all the craziness of kittens!

She has deeply enjoyed sharing her love of fostering with others as a foster mentor and looks forward to continuing to give support to others as the Cat Division Manager. Outside of Pet Haven, Rachel works at Securian Financial as a Software Engineer. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing on an intramural volleyball team, and recently very busy planning her April wedding!

More about Rachel...

Misha Smith

Cat Division Project Manager

We are excited to have Misha as the Cat Division Project Manager for Pet Haven. In her role as Project Manager, she supports our growing cat division helping improve processes, and supports, the team in projects that need attention. Misha brings her background in eLearning to the Pet Haven team, looking for new ways to innovate and create efficiencies to help Pet Haven reach more animals. Misha grew up surrounded by animals and holds a deep respect for all creatures, big and small. Joining Pet Haven in 2019 as a cat foster, Misha is proud to continue helping animals through rescue, fostering, and TNR.

Professionally, Misha is the VP of Marketing at a local cybersecurity firm. She lives with her husband and their three rescue cats, which are all acutely aware that they outnumber the humans. Misha enjoys vegan cooking, gardening, and updating vintage furniture. You can find her proudly walking her cats via stroller, repositioning earthworms from sidewalks to safety, and turning her home into a feline playground.

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Samantha Buckman

Assistant Cat Division Manager

Samantha Buckman joined Pet Haven as a foster in September 2020, and became a foster mentor in March 2022. She has found joy in fostering animals with heightened health needs, but has a soft spot for any and all orange tabbies. As a foster mentor she enjoys guiding young adults and first-time cat owners through the many excitements of fostering. When she’s not corralling her clowder of fosters, Samantha is a full-time law student and an author for a music magazine. Her resident cat, Tiger, is a source of light and love to all who meet her.

Engagement Team

Krysten Plautz

Supplies Manager

Krysten Plautz joined the Pet Haven team as a supplies volunteer and has enjoyed seeing how Pet Haven has grown over the years! She has a background in supply chain, operations, quality and project management. She hopes to be able to apply this experience at Pet Haven to ensure our fosters have the supplies they need to care for these amazing animals. In her free time, she loves spending time with her two children and her animal crew (a dog, two cats, a lizard, a python and a horse

Kourtney Kulseth

Events Team, Supply Team

Kourtney absolutely loves volunteering with Pet Haven because it has given her so many fun opportunities and have gotten to meet so many amazing people! Rescue has given Kourtney so much through my girls and she wants to give back in any way she can! Rescue is so important and Kourtney feels lucky to be apart of such a caring community at Pet Haven!

Position Open

Social Media Content Coordinator

Daelin Daubenberger

Events Coordinator

Daelin joined Pet Haven in 2021, pairing my passions for event planning and advocating for animal rescues. Daelin grew up in Chaska and has lived in the Twin Cities for the majority of her life. By day, she is an Associate Media Director at a local Minneapolis agency - Novus Next. By nights/weekends, she is the Event Coordinator for Pet Haven and a Guitar Instructor. In my free time I love to travel (been to over 25 countries), play hockey, kickbox, rollerblade, spend time with family at the lake, check out local breweries, and most importantly - spend time with own rescue dog, Julie!

Medical Team

Savannah Johnston

Vet Care Manager

More about Savannah...

Stephanie Di Lorenzo Sawyer

Queen & Kitten Care Manager

Stephanie recently joined our team as the Queen & Kitten Care Manager. She is a Certified Veterinary Technician at one of our partnering clinics and also serves as a cat and kitten foster as well for Pet Haven. She has over 17 years of experience in rescue including bottle raising orphaned kittens and puppies. Since childhood Steph has had a strong compassion for animals and their welfare which led her to the path of working in the Veterinary field.

We feel very lucky to have her on our team! Steph and her husband have 6 cats of their own. Some activities she enjoys outside of rescue include camping, hiking, supporting local farmer's markets, reading, trying new coffee shops and going to concerts.

Adoption Team

Maren Willette

Dog Adoption Coordinator

Maren joined Pet Haven in 2015 and has enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people and helping to change the lives of animals. She chose to volunteer with Pet Haven because of the family-feel and Pet Haven’s commitment to spay/neuter initiatives. She has loved volunteering through providing support as the Dog Adoption Coordinator and coordinating monthly nail trim clinics.

Maren's fondest and most influential memory with Pet Haven is from when she traveled to Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue to volunteer at the spay/neuter/wellness clinics. The experiences she had were unrivaled; seeing that the support and assistance was truly making a difference in the lives of the animals and the owners. When Maren is not at Pet Haven, she enjoys spending time with her family and two Pet Haven rescue dogs, and adventuring the outdoors!

More about Maren...

Leslie Bardon

Records Coordinator

Leslie began volunteering with Pet Haven in 2007. She was tossing around the idea of a second dog to add to her home for their dog Butch (a Rat Terrier). She figured "why not foster... we wouldn't have the expense of another dog- PERFECT!" Leslie was hooked! Eventually, Miss Bella entered her home and she didn't want to leave after 2 1/2 yrs with us, although they tried their hardest! Bella chose her home permanently in June of 2012.

Leslie has done many jobs with Pet Haven and is currently the Records Coordinator. Someday she will be back to fostering because she misses it so!!!

More about Leslie...

Nassim Rossi

Cat Adoption Coordinator

Inspired by the joy unleashed when her family welcomed a cat into their home in 2019, Nassim and her youngest daughter Darya joined Pet Haven in February 2021 as a cat foster team and Nassim soon transitioned to the role of Cat Foster Mentor. She is daily awed and moved by the compassion and dedication of the people she meets through Pet Haven.

She loves making a difference in the lives of vulnerable animals and helping people find their perfect cat match. Nassim enjoys spending time with her family, including her foster cats and resident cat Lea, and bringing happiness and positivity into the lives of humans too through her wellness business worD.Aroma. In her free time Nassim enjoys crafting, playing piano and devouring audiobooks ... ok, fine, and also watching lots of cat videos.

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Intake Team

Stephanie Schmidt

Intake Manager and Rural Shelter Intake Coordinator

Stephanie has always had a love and passion for animals. She has been bringing home stray and lost animals for most of her life. She joined Pet Haven in February 2022 after 4 years of fostering with other rescues. Her family has fostered over 70 cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies of all ages! She has been doing intake coordination for rural shelter partners located in Minnesota for a few years and really enjoys being an integral part of getting animals out of shelters and into foster homes. Stephanie wanted to add more support to Pet Havenand in November of 2022 she stepped into the Intake Manager role.

Stephanie supports our intake team and is the liaison to Leadership. Her support and dedication for saving more lives is inspiring. Outside of her volunteer work, she is a pediatric and fetal cardiac sonographer. In her personal life, Stephanie has a very tolerant husband who puts up with all of her animal shenanigans, 2 young children, and a house full of resident rescue cats and dogs.

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Jackie Schmiedlin

Reservation Intake Coordinator

Jackie and her family became Pet Haven volunteers in 2016, starting with dog fostering and adding cats to the mix in 2018. Their current resident animals (3 precocious male cats and a very sassy dog) are all rescued from the Red Lake Reservation where Jackie also volunteers several times a year at spay/neuter clinics. Fostering animals has become their passion - since 2019 they opened their home to more than 100 cats and dogs in need. They especially love fostering kittens.

Jackie enjoys sharing knowledge with the fosters in her group and learning more about cat and dog care from other volunteers.

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Kayla Knoll

Municipal Shelter Intake Coordinator

Kayla joined Pet Haven in February 2018 as a dog foster volunteer. In 2019, she took over the position of Shelter Intake Coordinator in contact originally with Safe Hands Rescue with dogs being transported from Kentucky now working with Mutt Mutt Engine in collaboration with South Carolina shelters and Rockwall Pets with Texas shelters. In her personal life, Kayla is a neurological intensive care nurse. She enjoys writing poetry and recently accepted a writing apprenticeship via the Loft Literary Center with a locally based published poet.

Kayla has a resident cat as her companion but continues to foster both cats and dogs with Pet Haven and looks forward to continuing her partnership as an engaged volunteer.

More about Kayla...

Ali Hansen

Cat Owner Surrender Intake Coordinator

Ali Hansen joined the team at Pet Haven in 2019 as a dog foster and is now the Cat Owner Surrender Coordinator. A greatly needed role during these uncertain times. Ali moved from Iowa to Minnesota in 2018 after graduating college from Iowa State University. She has been an animal lover her whole life and loves that she can finally use that passion to help animals in need. She even convinced her family to adopt their first pet, Katy the beagle, when she was in middle school.

Professionally she is a Graphic Designer, but outside of work she loves to be outdoors, travels the world, and spends as much time with her animals as possible. She lives with her partner, Chris, their cat, Charlie, and their Pet Haven foster fail, Gunther.

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Jessie Lohr

Dog Owner Surrender Intake Coordinator

Jessie joined the Pet Haven team in August. She loves to volunteer and was able to combine that with her love of dogs! Time not working in catering sales is spent with her husband, Ben, and wonderful pit mix pup, Bear. Her family just moved into the St Paul area from Atlanta a couple years ago and are loving it so far!

Patrice Ehlert

Intake Records Coordinator, Events Team, Cat Foster, Transport Driver

Patrice enjoys a few roles at Pet Haven, including cat foster, intake records coordinator, driver, and events volunteer. She finds that consistently trying to make small positive differences in both animals’ and peoples’ lives can have wonderfully far-reaching and long-lasting effects. She has had many remarkable experiences, from bottle feeding a very premature kitten to driving country roads with 10+ cats mewing along to the radio in the back of her car. She always looks forward to learning more about all aspects of animal rescue so that she can be a genuinely helpful resource for people and pets in her community—particularly hospice care and spay/neuter programs. Patrice lives with her husband Ian and two cats (Cali and Loki).

Snow Li

Intake Coordinator

Snow joined the Pet Haven team in 2022 in hopes of giving back to the community while being a full-time college student. Her love for animals and Pet Haven’s mission inspired her to become an intake coordinator. Snow works as a veterinary technician outside of volunteering. She loves to hike, ski, and spend time with friends.

Michael Rosenblatt

Intake Records Coordinator

Michael Rosenblatt is a retired Audiologist, currently working in Guest Services for the Minnesota Twins during baseball season. He volunteers for Pet Haven because of his love for animals, especially dogs. He and his wife, Cheryl currently own 3 dogs, Reuben age 2, Incus age 4, and Lily age 10.

Jessie Eubanks

Intake Coordinator

Jessie has been volunteering with Pet Haven as one of our Dog Owner Surrender Coordinators for the last couple of years. She works in catering sales, but one of her great passions is pet rescue! She and her husband live with their pittie, Bear, that they rescued five years ago.

She is an incredible ten-year-old pup but doesn't get along with other dogs and was about to be returned to the shelter and put down because of that. They couldn't let that happen so they drove the whole next day to pick her up from Pennsylvania and she's been the most amazing dog since. Jessie always had a love for pets but this solidified that for her and inspired her to work with organizations that helped other pets in this same situation and connect them with their forever homes.

More about Jessie....

Valerie Christoferson

Return Intake Coordinator

Val is an avid animal lover! She became a cat foster in May of 2020 while a full time college student. She now works in medical research and currently has no pets of her own (though has gotten very close to foster failing a few times). Val loves to read and hike in her free time and spends as much time as she can with her family.

Erin Cook

Intake Coordinator

Erin has been volunteering for Pet Haven for approximately two years. She started as an intake assistant. She later helped with vet records and is currently volunteering as an intake coordinator. She loves the community at Pet Haven. She has found that there is so much authenticity when it comes to helping the animals from the people at Pet Haven. The people at Pet Haven love animals, and this is very evident.

She has a pair of bonded cats who are seniors. She loves spending time with them and giving them the occasional human food treat. She is studying to be a veterinary assistant. She just completed a Ph. D in Forensic Psychology. She has learned so much about animal care as well as the process of fostering cats and dogs. She is very thankful for the opportunity to volunteer for Pet Haven.

More About Erin...

Laura Vanic

Shelter Intake Coordinator, Application Reviewer, Dog Respite Foster

Laura joined Pet Haven in 2020 as a cat foster, and has grown in the organization into several other roles. She is now an intake coordinator for a rural MN shelter, application reviewer for the cat owner surrender program, and a dog respite foster. Laura grew up with a family dog and has loved her time venturing into the "cat world" during COVID (and beyond) which works well with her busy schedule!

She says, "Pet Haven has been an absolute joy to work with the last few years. I've learned so much about rescue and met so many INCREDIBLE people who are selflessly giving their time and energy. The work that we do hasn't stopped amazing me yet. This is a very special group of people and pets!" Outside of Pet Haven, Laura likes to read and wake surf, and is busy with a job in the investing world.

More about Laura...

Cat Foster Team

Nassim Rossi

Cat Foster Mentor

More about Nassim...

Rachel Korkowski

Cat Foster Mentor

After transitioning to working from home full time, Rachel began fostering cats and kittens in May, 2020 and joined Pet Haven a year later. She's opened her home to all different kinds of cats: adult cats, under socialized cats, pregnant moms, and kittens. Although she loves them all, moms and kittens have a special place in her heart.

During the day, Rachel works as an Engineering Senior Analyst at Securian Financial and entertains her coworkers during meetings by giving "kitten updates" and sharing the cuteness. Her favorite part of fostering is watching the cats and kittens learn the joy and relaxation of life in rescue, knowing they're never going to have to go back to the struggles they've dealt with in the past. She's excited to be a foster mentor and get to share her passion for fostering with others.

More about Rachel...

Roxanne Merriman

Cat Foster Mentor

Roxanne joined Pet Haven in early 2021 after 5 years of experience in the rescue community fostering kittens and cats of all ages and ailments nearing 200 foster kitties! She grew up in a family of cat lovers, thinking she’d be a veterinarian when she got older but, turns out fostering was the perfect fit! Roxanne has 2 cats of her own, Moe and Izzy, who do a wonderful job teaching kittens how to well… cat!

She started a social media page to track and share the bajillions of photos and videos being taken of all the adorable happenings, and has come to enjoy every piece of fostering from the fun, creative photos, bio writing, being the bridge between now and forever, and finding the purrfect homes! Becoming a Cat Foster Mentor is a wonderful compliment to her enjoyment of training and leadership opportunities, so getting to share her experience and guiding other fosters to success is one more reason to love all that Pet Haven does for the community and the pets who need us!

More about Roxanne...

Brandon Urban

Cat Foster Mentor

Brandon and his family began fostering with Pet Haven in January of 2019 as a way of adding new cats to the family without having to add new cats to the family. Little did they know that four foster fails later there would be six resident cats in the Urban household. They have fostered close to 200 cats and kittens in their time with Pet Haven and think the 2% foster fail rate is truly respectable.

Brandon and family foster mostly pregnant mamas, mamas and their litters, and kittens under 8 weeks. He truly embraces the role of “Cat Dad,” constantly hosting kitten photo shoots, making trips to the vet, and feeding the felines 2nd breakfast. In his spare time, Brandon loves to play golf and baseball. He also spends a ton of time working on his 1966 Ford truck. He is married to the Pet Haven Cat Division Manager, Julie, and they have three children- Ben, Grace, and Molly. Their resident cats are Nova, Sushi, Wren, Cloudpuff Squismallow, Meredith Grey, and Raven.

More about Brandon...

Samantha Buckman

Cat Foster Mentor

Neha Bressers

Cat Foster Mentor

Neha joined Pet Have in December 2020 as a Cat foster and added a role of cat adoption coordinator. Neha's resident cat - Ben was rescued just a year prior and is the most skittish cat (EVER). Ben needed to learn proper social skills and exposing him to other felines was one way to do so. Not having any pets growing, it was a very welcome challenge - to learn and understand cats and kittens with different personalities. She has fostered cats of all ages and traits and holds a special place for senior cats. Neha transitioned to become Foster Mentor soon after to help other fosters have equally great experience fostering a furry friend with Pet Haven.

Neha and Scott enjoy the outdoors - backpacking, hiking, traveling, puzzling in cold winter evenings, drinking delicious beers and generally everything Minnesota offers.

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Jess Guernsey

Cat Foster Mentor

Jess joined Pet Haven in February 2022 after 4 years of fostering with other rescues. They have now fostered 49 cats and kittens! They couldn't have done it without the help of their 3 resident cats. Finnegan is a grumpy gray giant who all their foster kittens love to snuggle. Dandelion is mostly white with an orange mullet. He's sweet and silly. Zealand is black with bright green eyes. This goofball has so much energy he can keep up with the 5 week old kittens! When Jess is not fostering, they are typically hiking somewhere on the other side of the world.

They enjoy traveling almost as much as fostering. Almost. Jess is looking forward to many more years of fostering and mentoring with this awe inspiring, brilliant Pet Haven team

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Mary Kane

Cat Foster Mentor

Mary began fostering in 2017 after losing her long-time feline companion, Annie. She quickly learned about the great number of cats in need. Since then she has made her home a safe transition place, helping foster cats become their happiest, healthiest selves. Now Mary also supports other volunteers as a foster mentor. Mary works in marketing and is a writer. Her story about the beginning of her fostering journey will be included in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Cat, to be published in 2023. You can find her online at marychristinekane.com.

Jamie Darst

Cat Foster Onboarding Coordinator

Jamie joined Pet Haven in June of 2021 fostering cats, she fostered five cats between June and September eventually she took in one of her family's animals permanently which brought her to her max of three cats, and had to pause on fostering. She decided she still wanted to volunteer her time and become a foster coordinator. Jamie grew up in Lake Elmo Minnesota, and has now jumped across the bridge and become a Wisconsin resident.

She had many animals growing up including dogs and cats. Her passion for animals really took flight when she adopted her first pet of her own,8 year old Braveheart from the forget me not list at the Animal Humane society in 2018 and that is what brought her to Pet Haven.

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Stephanie Ransdell

Welcome Visit Volunteer

My name is Stephanie Ransdell and I currently live in Farmington, MN. I have always had a love for animals and the desire to help them however I can. I currently have two cats, two dogs, two bearded dragons, a ball python and most recently a crested gecko. I have previously fostered cats and absolutely loved it, but after having my last foster fail I needed a break from having more animals in the house. I decided I still wanted to be involved with helping rescue and was lucky enough to be brought on by Pet Haven.

Dog Foster Team

Sarah Hoops

Dog Foster Mentor

Sarah Hoops' passion for improving lives, including her own, lead her to Pet Haven in 2014. One week after losing Pet Haven-alum black lab, Suzy, Sarah knew her quiet home was ready to make a difference for other dogs. She began fostering and quickly evolved into one of our Foster Mentors. As an account executive, Sarah loves the empathetic approach to helping identify a good-fit - whether it's the best technology solution in her career or the perfect fit for a dog's furever home (and the foster). Sarah understands that supporting and encouraging the community is equally as important as caring for the rescued dogs. Sarah is able to enjoy it all with her crew helping out; husband Todd and son Ryder, as well as two social mutts, Andi and Willie.

Jenny Jurek

Dog Foster Mentor

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Darlene Johnson

Dog Foster Mentor

Darlene has always had a soft spot for animals and spent most of her childhood in Malaysia rescuing animals in ditches, drains, and culverts (while trying not to get swept out into the river). She joined Pet Haven in 2015 as a dog foster and quickly stepped into the role of being a Foster Mentor - where she could grow her love of working with fellow fosters and the dogs they have come to share their homes and hearts with. Professionally, Darlene is a Network Engineer and all-around nerd.

This geek at heart is passionate about social welfare and finds herself helping out at various social programs in Minnesota and overseas, in her home country of Malaysia. When she does have spare time, she is always on the lookout for the next travel opportunity, searching for new culinary adventures, flying the skies in a single engine plane and working her way onto the next Lego kit. Darlene shares her home with her senior cat, Kiwi, and 2 goofy dogs, Mochi and Archer, and the occasional foster dog.

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Beth Alexander

Dog Foster Mentor

Beth Alexander began volunteering with Pet Haven in 2013 as a puppy foster. After adopting 2 of her foster dogs, she could no longer foster so she became a foster mentor to support fosters in their journey. Beth has loved dogs her entire life and is very passionate about saving as many as possible! Beth says, "I love helping our new fosters start out and supporting the ones who have been with us a while. One of my most memorable stories is being involved in helping another foster with her semi-feral pup. We worked with very hard to get him to trust and love. The day he started coming out of his shell is a day I'll never forget. Two years after being adopted, his dad still brings him to our events to visit and he still remembers and loves me."

Another passion of Beth's is volunteering with Red Lake Rosie's Rescue in northern Minnesota at their spay/neuter/wellness clinics: "These clinics have a big impact on the community and I'm proud to be able to help." In her spare time, Beth enjoys spending time with her two rescue pups, a Shepherd mix, and a Staffie mix. She also enjoys spending time at her cabin with her husband and two adult children.

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Merry and Aaron Sawdey

Dog Foster Mentors

Merry, Aaron, and their son Ian entered Pet Haven through the adoption of their first rescue dog, Geordie, one of five puppies left in a dumpster in Iowa in 2008. When their beloved black Lab, Angus, died in 2009, they started fostering with Pet Haven, and the floodgates opened from there. When your heart breaks, it breaks open and there’s so much more room. They continued to foster, adopting Jack, and eventually foster failing with Mikey, then Rex. In 2017, Merry and Aaron became foster mentors, enjoying the connection and ability to support other fosters. While all three love working in animal rescue, they find volunteering for Pet Haven especially meaningful because they value Pet Haven’s warm, collaborative community of staff and volunteers.

Aaron is a computer engineer with IBM and also volunteers with Leech Lake Legacy at spay/neuter clinics. He also enjoys reading science fiction, tinkering with cars, and following SpaceX launches. Merry is a Kindermusik educator with Kindermusik of the Valley in Burnsville, a certified spiritual director, writer, and book artist. All three enjoy working with shy and fearful dogs, continuing to deepen their knowledge and understanding to help the sensitive pups see that the world can be a good place. Merry appreciates how her spiritual direction training, her work with young children, and her work with animals is connected through the common needs for empathy, presence, and creativity. They currently have two resident dogs, Geordie and Rex, and room for two fosters. And occasionally a third. But that’s all. No, really.

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Rita Widmer

Dog Foster Mentor and Welcome Visit Volunteer

Rita has been volunteering with rescues since 2016, and joined Pet Haven in 2018. She started out as the dog spay/neuter coordinator, and has helped welcome new fosters into rescue as a new foster home visit volunteer. She is also a dog foster. She is looking forward to helping out fosters find the right dog for their home, and be there for all the ups and downs of fostering like having to say good-bye. In her four years in rescue, she has taken on hospice, medical cases, bite issues, skin issues, and much more.

When Rita isn't helping rescue dogs and cats, she works full time as a Special Education paraprofessional and job coach to high schoolers- plus, she is working on getting her Bachelor's in Social Work.

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