Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs - Board of Directors, Scientific Advisors, Staff

Board, Staff, and Advisors

Board of Directors

		Joel Adamson Consultant, Brakke Consulting Adamson is a senior consultant with Brakke Consulting, the leading business consulting firm serving the animal health and pet supplies industry. Adamson has significant experience and skills in business development and marketing. His business development work has included intellectual property management, licensing, strategic planning, legal and regulatory activities, and international business arrangements. Within marketing, his experience includes brand management, channel and distribution management, product development and launch, business communications and margin/profitability analysis. Adamson was formerly senior vice president of business development for Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of pet supplies and healthcare products for pets. In this position he was responsible for intellectual property management, legal affairs, licensing and contracts, planning, and industry relations. Prior to this, he served as senior vice president, marketing for Sergeant’s with responsibility of overseeing product and brand management, communications, channel management and related activities. He currently serves as a senior consultant for Brakke Consulting, Inc., a leading business consulting firm to the animal health industry. Adamson has held a variety of executive positions in general management, marketing and operations for companies which manufacture and market consumer packaged goods, animal health products, chemical specialties and other products. He has an engineering degree from University of Nebraska and an MBA from University of Nebraska at Omaha. Adamson serves on the board of directors for American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC).

		Betsy Banks Saul President and Co-Founder, Petfinder.com Senior Vice President, Discovery Channel Saul is the co-founder and president of Petfinder.com, one of the busiest web sites on the Internet. With a vision to change the way the public views shelter pets, Betsy and her husband, Jared, harnessed the infant technology of the Internet in 1996 and molded it into one of the most successful e-businesses to date. Petfinder, which Betsy describes as a "social profit company," is on a mission to see that no pet is euthanized for lack of a home. In November of 2006, Petfinder.com joined forces with The Discovery Channel, greatly increasing Petfinder.com's ability to help pets worldwide. Saul has been working with and volunteering to help animals since she was a teenager in Joplin, Missouri. She received her bachelor's degree in biology from Missouri Southern State University and a master's in forest ecology from Clemson University. She worked as an urban forester for the State of New Jersey, as an agriculture extension agent at Rutgers University, as a park ranger at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska, and as a field scientist for the Army Corps of Engineers in South Carolina. Her work has always emphasized collaboration and consensus building. Saul shares her home in North Carolina with one dog, two cats, three senior horses, one sheep, two turtles and two goats.

		Joyce Briggs, MS (Secretary) President, ACC&D Briggs has been involved in a leadership capacity with ACC&D since 2004 and has served as president since 2006. During this time she has helped substantially advance interest in, work toward, and support for creating non-surgical sterilants for progressive population control of cats and dogs. She has led the organization’s strategic planning, fundraising, and program development, established a respected Scientific Advisory Board, and produced and directed two major scientific symposiums and three scientific think tanks. She has played a key cultivation role in developing strategic partnerships advancing this field. Briggs has been a leader in national animal welfare for over fifteen years, through top general management, marketing, development, program and public relations positions at national nonprofit organizations, and as a management consultant bridging nonprofits, corporations and communities. As executive director of PetSmart Charities from 1999 to 2004, Briggs developed and oversaw the grants program which raised and distributed $23 million to the animal welfare cause, supporting pet adoption and spay/neuter programs. With 2,400 adoption partners in adoption centers in over 620 PetSmart stores, PetSmart Charities found homes for over 1.2 million once-homeless pets in that time. Before joining PetSmart Charities, Briggs was senior director of marketing and PR for the American Humane Association. She also served on the national Board of Directors for the Delta Society for three years and is active with the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP) a regional coalition of animal shelters. Prior to working full-time in animal protection, Briggs held corporate positions for 15 years. Her career spans management positions with New York City advertising agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather, and marketing leadership positions with Nabisco, Nutri-System and the Franklin Mint. She holds a master's degree in advertising from Northwestern University. Briggs shares her home in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, daughter, three dogs, two cats, and three hens.

		Amy Fischer, PhD Teaching Associate and Extension Specialist Animal Sciences, University of Illinois Fischer is a Teaching Associate and Extension Specialist with the University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences, where she coordinates the Companion Animal Biology and Humane Education program. This program emphasizes the science of companion animals as well as their roles in society, and encourages students to apply knowledge through a wide variety of internships, service-based learning projects, and other opportunities based on community partnerships. Fischer serves on the Board of Directors of the Champaign County Humane Society, and is an active member of the Central Illinois Animal Welfare Coalition. She also serves as an ad hoc member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Michelson Prize & Grants, a program of the Found Animals Foundation. She has volunteered with numerous domestic and international population control campaigns, and is deeply committed to advancing the application of nonsurgical sterilization methods in humane population control.

		Elly Hiby, PhD Scientific Advisor World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) Hiby is scientific advisor for the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA), specifically working on humane dog population management and rabies control in the developing world. Since joining WSPA in 2004, she has also worked on ending the trade in dog meat, improving the welfare of working equines, and the monitoring and evaluation of animal welfare in general. In 2006, Hiby and contemporaries from Royal Society for Protection of Animals, Humane Society International and International Fund for Animal Welfare formed the International Companion Animal Management (ICAM) Coalition. This coalition aims to improve understanding of effective population management by sharing experience and data from past and current nonprofit projects and by combining knowledge to produce documents outlining best practices. She has also worked as a technical expert with the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on dog population management. Prior to joining WSPA, Hiby completed a PhD in dog welfare and behaviour with a focus on improving the welfare of working dogs and the impact of training methods on pet behaviour. However, her passion for animal welfare has led to work with many other species, from training horses under the guidance of “horse whisperer” Monty Roberts to surveying wild seal populations along the UK coastline.

		Betsy McFarland Vice President, Companion Animals The Humane Society of the United States Betsy McFarland is Senior Director for the Companion Animals section of The Humane Society of the United States where she manages a wide variety of issues and programs aimed at increasing adoption and spay/neuter, ending euthanasia, and protecting pets. During her twelve-year career with The HSUS, she has provided direct assistance to hundreds of animal shelters, humane organizations, and other agencies on a variety of animal issues. McFarland possesses a broad communications background including website creation, book publishing, and media outreach. She has appeared on a wide range of news programs, including CNN, Fox National News, CNBC, and has been interviewed by numerous other media outlets. She is also a regular speaker at state and national animal conferences. Over the last decade, McFarland has responded to numerous natural and man-made disasters. She is NDART trained and has extensive experience setting up and managing emergency animal shelters. McFarland has a special interest and passion for volunteer engagement. She is the author of Volunteer Management: A Guide for Animal Care Organizations, published by The HSUS, and has worked with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to research volunteer management practices. The research findings were published in the Non-Profit Management and Leadership Journal. McFarland is a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) through the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA). She is past secretary for the board of the National Council on Pet Population, Study, and Policy and was a founding board member of the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (ALIVE). In addition to her animal protection background, McFarland holds a degree in psychology from George Mason University and a certificate in nonprofit business and management from the Johns Hopkins University.

		Kevin Morris, PhD (Treasurer) Director of Research Animal Assistance Foundation Dr. Morris brings an extensive background in medical research and technology development to his work in animal welfare. He was involved in cancer research for over 20 years, including a 10-year stint as a Co-Founding Partner of Sirius Medicine, a research and development company that generates new radiosurgical technologies for cancer treatment. Dr. Morris joined the Animal Assistance Foundation in 2009 to pursue an interest in applying his scientific expertise to the advancement of animal welfare and philanthropy. As the Director of Research, he conducts studies aimed at better understanding the issues of animal sheltering, dog and cat sterilization, unwanted horses, animal-assisted therapy and the human-animal bond. His research creates new information for the animal welfare community and informs the foundation’s granting strategy. Morris received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Chicago, and was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Colorado.

		Linda Rhodes, VMD, PhD CEO, Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. Rhodes has 25 years of accomplishments in human and animal drug discovery, development, biomedical research and clinical veterinary medicine. She has an extensive background in physiology, medicine, molecular biology, and drug discovery and development. As a senior research fellow at Merck Research Laboratories for 10 years, Rhodes led pre-clinical biology efforts for several marketed human drugs. She practiced clinical veterinary medicine for five years, with experience in both companion and farm animal practice. She worked for Merial Ltd., as director of development projects, leading project teams developing novel compounds for a variety of indications. In April 2001 Rhodes co-founded AlcheraBio, a contract research organization specializing in animal health drug development and marketing which has clients in the US, EU, Canada and Australia. AlcheraBio was acquired in 2008 by Argenta, a formulations and contract manufacturing company that specializes in animal health, and Rhodes then held the position of Vice President - Clinical Research. In February, 2011, she was named the CEO of Aratana Therapeutics, a venture capital backed animal health start-up company that will be developing novel therapies for animals. Rhodes received her BA at Sarah Lawrence College, VMD at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and completed her PhD in reproductive physiology at Cornell University with funding from the NIH.

		G. Robert Weedon, DVM, MPH (Board Vice-Chair) Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois; Shelter Veterinarian, Champaign County Humane Society; Veterinary Outreach Coordinator for the Global Alliance for Rabies Control Weedon is an adjunct clinical assistant professor the University of Illinois and shelter veterinarian for the Champaign County Humane Society. He also serves as the veterinary outreach coordinator for the Global Alliance for Rabies Control. Weedon is the retired Senior Partner of College Road Animal Hospital, PLLC, a nine-doctor, two-location veterinary practice in Wilmington, North Carolina. Weedon attended the Management Academy for Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was the community partner on the team that represented New Hanover County. In 2007, he completed a year-long leadership development program at the Southeast Public Health Leadership Institute within the UNC School of Public Health. Weedon volunteers on the UNC Public Health Foundation Board and served on the Board of Directors of the Public Health Foundation of New Hanover County. In June, 2008, he received the Bill Lehman Memorial Award from the National Animal Control Association as outstanding animal control volunteer in the United States. Weedon attended Purdue University where he received his bachelor of science in animal science in 1977 and his doctor of veterinary medicine in 1981. He received his master of public health in 2005 from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

		Stephen L. Zawistowski, PhD, CAAB (Board Chair) Science Advisor The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Zawistowski is science advisor of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals where he currently oversees a variety of special projects. “Dr. Z” is a well-known speaker on a number of animal shelter issues including animal behavior, humane education, using statistics to manage programs and the history of animal sheltering. Zawistowski is a certified applied animal behaviorist and chaired the Animal Behavior Society’s Board of Professional Certification from 1998-2007; is founding co-editor of the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, adjunct professor of clinical medicine at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Animal Behavior and Conservation graduate program at Hunter College. He co-edited Animal Shelter Medicine with Dr. Lila Miller (2004), co-authored a history of the ASPCA, Heritage of Care with Marion Lane (2008) and authored a textbook Companion Animals in Society (2008).

Scientific Advisory Board
Science Advisory and Product Development Committee

		Cheryl Asa, PhD Director of Research and Director of the AZA Wildlife Contraception Center St. Louis Zoo Asa has managed the contraception program for the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for more than 20 years, first as chair of the Contraception Advisory Group then as director of the AZA Wildlife Contraception Center, formed in 1999. The Center oversees contraceptive monitoring, research, and product distribution for North American zoos and provides information and recommendations on its website (www.stlzoo.org/contraception). She also is director of the Saint Louis Zoo's Research Dept., specializing in comparative reproductive processes, particularly in canids and equids. Asa was recently named to the National Academy of Sciences Wild Horse and Burro Management Committee, recognizing her prior research with feral horse sterilization and contraception. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with majors in biology and psychology and both an MS and PhD in Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology, also from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She teaches Endocrinology at Saint Louis University and Animal Behavior at Washington University in St. Louis. She has authored more than 150 publications and edited a book Wildlife Contraception: Issues, Methods, and Application.

		Barry Ball, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACT Professor and Albert G. Clay Endowed Chair in Equine Reproduction, Department of Veterinary Science Ball received his DVM degree from the University of Georgia in 1981. After spending time in private practice, he completed a residency at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida in the specialty of clinical reproduction. Subsequently, he completed his graduate training at Cornell University where his doctoral research examined aspects of early embryonic loss in mares. He was a member of the faculty in Clinical Sciences at Cornell University from 1987 to 1996. In 1996, he was appointed as the first John P. Hughes Endowed Chair in Equine Reproduction at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis. In 2010, he was appointed as the first Albert Clay Endowed Chair in Equine Reproduction at the Gluck Equine Research Center, Lexington, KY. Ball’s current research emphasis is directed toward reproductive endocrinology and pregnancy loss in mares. Dr. Ball is a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists. He has received numerous awards related to his research and teaching in equine reproduction including the SmithKline Beecham Award for Research Excellence from Cornell University, the Excellence in Equine Research Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Schering-Plough Award for Outstanding Research in Equine Reproduction from the World Equine Veterinary Association, and the Carl Norden – Pfizer Distinguished Teacher award from the School of Veterinary Medicine, UC-Davis. Dr. Ball completed a sabbatical leave as a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar at the University of Cambridge and the Equine Fertility Unit in Newmarket during 2004-05. He serves on the International Equine Reproduction Symposium Committee and Trust and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs.