About Us
We are North Bay Animal Services, an organization that is providing the North Bay with No-Kill animal care and control. NBAS is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit (tax ID: 82-4614629).
Our mission is to provide comprehensive animal services to the North Bay community that result in fewer homeless animals, greater pet retention, and happier families. We hope you’ll join us. Please consider volunteering or donating today.
COMPASSION: Offering compassion and respect to each animal and person in our sphere of influence.
COMMUNITY: Remaining accountable and connected to the community we serve–Petaluma, Windsor, Healdsburg, Clearlake, Cloverdale, Calistoga and Sebastopol!
CONNECTION: Pursuing active connections with individuals and agencies that share our goals.
NBAS – Staff |
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![]() Mark Scott joined the Petaluma Animal Services Foundation in 2012 and quickly rose through the ranks to Senior Animal Control Officer and then to Operations Supervisor, where he successfully staffed and maintained the Petaluma Animal Shelter. He was also instrumental in creating a flexible animal control division for other city agencies, which included the Cities of Calistoga, Healdsburg, and Cloverdale. During the Tubbs Fire, Sonoma County Animal Services recruited Mark to assist with search and rescue efforts. He has also successfully set up and run disaster relief efforts, coordinating the distribution of needed supplies. In 2018, he was presented with Petaluma’s Service Person of the Year Award by the Argus-Courier and Chamber of Commerce.
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![]() Kathy Sousa, Cat Care Coordinator Kathy grew up in San Anselmo. At age 18, she started as a “kennelman” at Marin Humane Society, where she worked for the next 25 years. Most of those years were spent in the spay/neuter clinic as a vet assistant, helping to perform thousands of low-cost surgeries every year. In 2001, Kathy began working at the Petaluma Animal Shelter, soon becoming the resident cat whisperer. She loves the challenge of rectifying problems between pets and their owners and coming up with creative solutions. Kathy currently has seven cats, five of which are special needs, and one big couch potato dog. A good day for Kathy includes cuddling with her animals and eating Mexican food. |
![]() Mary Myers, Cat Care Coordinator Meet Mary, our Cat Care Coordinator! Mary was originally from Oklahoma but has lived in Sonoma County for 23 years. She’s traded cake decorating (a 21-year career) for her true love: caring for cats. When not at the shelter, she enjoys quilting, hiking, fishing, and camping (with her cats by her side). Mary’s love for cats makes her the purr-fect person for the job! |
![]() Bella O’Toole, Dog Care Coordinator |
![]() Maria Mendiola, Customer Service Representative |
![]() Addie Schroth, Customer Service Representative Addie grew up in Petaluma and have always been surrounded by animals big or small. She soon realized; animals are her passion. Addie was so happy to become part of the NBAS family and being part of something great. I will always have a special place in my heart for my work family and all the animals that come through. On my free time I love spending time with my son and doing crafts! |
Jamie is originally from Washington State and her Love of animals has been a thing for all of her life. At 18 she started working with animals as a volunteer at many shelters and has even volunteered at the wildlife rescue. Jamie has been trained in animal behavior and in dog grooming. she enjoys coffee, a good book, and spending time with her kids. |
![]() Breanna Porter, Animal Care Attendant
Breanna is a Petaluma native. Her strong love for animals brought her to NBAS as a volunteer, so she was already familiar with the ropes when she was hired. She is detail oriented and has great time management and organizational skills, both on the job and at home, where she has two dogs, two cats, two parrot cichlids, and five hens! Outside of work, Bre enjoys horseback riding and crepes with strawberries and cream.
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![]() Esteban Sierra, Animal Care Attendant
Esteban, originally from San Francisco, relocated to Petaluma during high school. He’s a music enthusiast who enjoys creating music videos in his free time. Esteban is also a proud parent to Jaire, a former NBAS shelter pup! With his contagious smile and deep love for animals, Esteban is a wonderful addition to NBAS, brightening the lives of our shelter residents daily |
![]() Ashlyn Stone, Animal Care Attendant
Ashlyn, a fifth-generation Petaluma cattle rancher, has harbored a lifelong passion for working with animals. She shares her home with Buddy, a 7-year-old cat, and Harley, her energetic puppy. Ashlyn’s dedication to animal welfare led her to North Bay Animal Services, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our team! |
![]() Jose Morales, Animal Care Attendant
Jose’s profound affinity for dogs stems from his belief in treating them with kindness, recognizing the confidence and boundless love they bring into our lives. We are so excited to have him on the NBAS team! |
![]() Madison Lopez, Animal Care Attendant
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![]() Amy grew up in Sacramento, now lives in Marin County. She has a passion for working with animals and has prior experience as an Animal Technician. Amy has recently joined the NBAS team. She loves being with the animals and sees herself in them. She loves when she helps find homes for all the animals; it’s part of her greatest joy. On her days off, she is with her four daughters helping friends/family with training their animals.
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NBAS – Clearlake Staff |
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Tara relocated to Lake County from Santa Rosa nine years ago. On her free time she enjoys spending time with her children and dogs. Since her childhood, she has been dedicated to rescuing cats from bottle babies to feral cats, Tara has tons of experience with bottle-feeding kittens and helping with TNR programs. Her deep compassion for animal care drives her to contribute to her community in any way she can which is why she fits in so well at NBAS! |
Dena has lived in lake county since 1976. Dena started working at NBAS back in November of 2021 as a kennel tech she loves every min she gets to spend with the dogs especially dogs that need a little extra time adjusting. In her off time, she loves spending time with her 2 daughters & 3 grandchildren, kayaking & camping. |
![]() Jackie Pyzer, Animal Care Attendant
Jackie grew up in Lake County. One of her earliest memories was of her dog Jasper, and has had a passion for animals from a young age. “These dogs are my best friends, new and old,” Jackie stated since working for NBAS. Her hobbies include art, writing and going on adventures!
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![]() Helen Coleman, Animal Care Attendant
Helen was originally from Santa Rosa, and moved around from state to state across the country most of her life. Helen has always had a passion for animals, I started volunteering in Florida at the local Humane Society in 2017 before moving back to Lake County in late 2019. I have 3 cats , 2 dogs , and a horse at home. I enjoy seeing the new animals come out of their shells, and being a part of find their forever homes. I joined NBAS to be part of the change in the lives of the animals in the City of Clearlake. |
![]() Alyssa Terry, Animal Care Attendant
Alyssa was born in Rohnert Park but moved to Lake County with her family when she was one, and has been there ever since. Before joining NBAS, Alyssa worked as a kennel technician at a local veterinary hospital, which taught her many useful skills that she uses today. In her spare time, Alyssa loves to ride her horse Luna, while her miniature horse, squeak, follows right behind. She also enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Aspen and Bear. Alyssa adopted Bear from the Clearlake shelter and she says he was the missing piece to her animal puzzle.
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![]() Charmaine Weldon, Animal Care Attendant Charmaine started volunteering at the Clearlake animal shelter five years ago and soon after accepted a full time kennel technician position. Her goal since then has been to provide the best for all animals in our care and maintain shelter standards above basic expectations. Working with NBAS and their resources will help exceed our goals and more! She finds the medical side of sheltering interesting and have lost count of the many neonatal/bottle babies she has cared for. When not caring for animals, Charmaine enjoys doing things with her family like going to movies, checking out the local music scene and finding our next new favorite place to eat. |
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Animal Control Officers |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Officer Gina grew up in Point Reyes and Petaluma. She has a passion for animals and her community, and she brings her flexibility, punctuality, and strong work ethic to the NBAS team. Before joining NBAS, Gina worked dispatch for San Francisco Animal Care and Control. When not working, Gina enjoys snowboarding and camping with her husband and chocolate lab, Mud. Her favorite food is anything with cheese. Gina recently was promoted to Senior Animal Control Officer.
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Emily grew up in Petaluma, on a family farm called Bale of Fun Farm, where they have
animals ranging from llamas to cats and dogs. She has always been good with animals, is full of new ideas, and is always ready to help–three traits that make her perfect for NBAS! During off-hours, Emily enjoys hanging out with her family, friends, and her dog Bailey. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Jori Donahoo, Animal Control Officer
Jori grew up in Petaluma. Before joining NBAS, Jori worked in emergency vet medicine and brings years of experience, skills and knowledge to our team. When not working Jori enjoys spending time with her son and her 4 dogs.
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![]() Ashley Jones, Animal Control Officer
Ashley is from San Mateo and has lived all around the Bay Area. Now a Sonoma County resident, she’s recently joined the NBAS team in September. She has prior experience in Animal Control and has a love for all animals; domestic to wildlife. When not working her time is spent with her two daughters (5yr old and 15yr old) as well as her two dogs, Kobe (Pitbull) and Luna (Cane Corso).
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![]() John Moretz, Animal Control Officer
I am originally from the east coast, my family moved around a lot. We eventually settled in Petaluma in the early 90’s and then moved to Lake County around 1994. I’ve lived in Lake County on and off for the last 20 years. The last 5 years I’ve spent working in Animal Services as an Animal Control Officer for both the City of Clearlake and a year with the County of Lake. I’ve also spent over 2 years volunteering with the SPCA of Lake County. I have 5 dogs, 4 cats and 2 children. I joined NBAS because I wanted to come back to the City of Clearlake to help the community that had been so kind toward me during my years as an ACO with the Clearlake Police Department.
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![]() Julia Moore, Animal Control Officer
I was born in Napa and moved to Clearlake at a young age, spending most of my childhood here in Clearlake. I have 2 sons and 2 dogs. I have always been dedicated to animal welfare and was always the kid bringing stray dogs and cats home. I worked in a boarding facility for 2 years before becoming a CNA. When I was offered the job as an ACO I could not turn it down, I have never had a job that I was excited to come into work every day until I was employed by North Bay Animal Services. Working with North Bay Animal Services has been amazing, and I am so grateful they have taken over the animal control here in Clearlake, North Bay Animal Services has already made such a huge difference and it is clear that they care extremely about the well-being of all the animals, and I am glad to be a part of the change.
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![]() Alyssa Terry, Animal Control Officer
Alyssa was born in Rohnert Park but moved to Lake County with her family when she was one, and has been there ever since. Before joining NBAS, Alyssa worked as a kennel technician at a local veterinary hospital, which taught her many useful skills that she uses today. In her spare time, Alyssa loves to ride her horse Luna, while her miniature horse, squeak, follows right behind. She also enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Aspen and Bear. Alyssa adopted Bear from the Clearlake shelter and she says he was the missing piece to her animal puzzle.
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NBAS Board of Directors
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![]() Robbi Lakos, Board President |
![]() Brenda Marshall, Board Member (Secretary) |
Steve Reid, Board Treasurer |
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Gale Valentini, Board Treasurer (Current) Gale has lived in Petaluma since 1992 and has been a supporter of NBAS from it’s inception. She is retired from a career in human resources and financial services with a detour to the culinary field. Cats have always been a part of Gale’s life with more than one and up to four living in her household. In addition to her cats, she enjoys gardening and quilting.
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Jeanne Allen, Board Secretary (Current) Jeanne Allen retired from her thirty-six year career in federal law enforcement in addition to sixteen years as an Recruitment Coordinator for the Department of Justice. In 2016, she joined the Board of Directors for Humankind Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the challenges between law enforcement agencies and their respective communities. Jeanne has been a shelter volunteer for the past 16 years in addition to volunteering at a variety of public adoption events, spay/neuter clinics and the weekly Petco cat adoption events. Jeanne also volunteers her time at Lily’s Legacy, a senior dog rescue in Petaluma. Jeanne has had three rescue cats and she later adopted two more cats from the shelter. Jeanne is a avid hiker and enjoys traveling with her husband and son. |
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Jill Countermine, Board Member Jill has lived in Sonoma County for 25 years. She has always had a love for animals, frequently bringing home lizards in coffee cans, tadpoles, and birds after they ate too many pyracantha berries. Growing up, Mrs. Terwilliger’s (San Rafael WildCare) field trips were always the best, and petting a cheetah, not once, but twice was beyond amazing. Jill has been a volunteer for the shelter for at least 13 years, at the shelter, Petco, and other special events. |
![]() Susan Simons, Board Member |
![]() Sue Davy, Co-Founder, and Communications Coordinator Sue discovered animal welfare 12 years ago through fostering animals for the Petaluma Animal Shelter. As Office Manager and Board member, she collaborated with other organizations throughout the county to improve animal welfare.Her love for software and the desire to have a greater impact took her to a job with the largest animal management software company in the industry, where she managed large projects, communicating effectively across time zones and cultures to keep projects on track. Through helping animal welfare agencies refine their processes and use the software more effectively, she learned about the cutting edge programs in Animal Welfare, sharing that knowledge at national summits. Sue has successfully managed projects and led groups to meet goals that they thought were unattainable. Her calm leadership inspires confidence and teamwork, and she is a mentor to staff, leading through example and by taking time to help others achieve their goals.In 2018 Sue co-founded North Bay Animal Services and served as Board President, helping the organization in the startup years. Her focus has been on organizational health and fiscal sustainability and goal setting. Throughout her volunteer work experience, Sue continues to foster pets in need. She has lost count of how many moms and puppies she has helped to find their forever homes. Her foster litters become part of our community – friends, family, former adopters all share in the experience. Sue joins us as Communications Coordinator, bringing her unique experience from years in the local and national animal welfare scene, coupled with her Petaluma perspective from over 25 years of active involvement in our community. |