Freddy Cruz is the founder of Speke Podcasting, but the Greater Houston area has heard his voice through the radio for more than seventeen thousand hours across three decades. When he’s not in the lab writing or creating auditory satisfaction, you can find him nose deep in a book, snuggling with his dog Sparrow, or jogging in his neighborhood. Freddy is a great lover of animals and has used his powerful voice on their behalf for years. Join Freddy and Lisa as they talk about advocacy and marketing for animal welfare on this episode of Conversations for the Animals.

Kelli Betner, Houston PetSet’s Director of Development, was born and raised in Midland, Texas. Growing up, her dream was to raise 300 “head of weenie dogs” on a rescue ranch to be called “The Long Dog Ranch”. To this day she still dreams of that ranch! Kelli was in the U.S. Army and served a tour in Afghanistan from 2010-2011. After the military she earned her undergraduate degree from Baylor University and her Master’s from New York University. Before joining Houston PetSet, Kelli worked in the corporate world, but is so glad to be a part of the HPS team!

Dr. Chumkee Aziz is a first generation Bangladeshi-American and native Houstonian. She is a board-certified shelter medicine veterinary specialist and currently works for the University of California, Davis’ Koret Shelter Medicine Program as a pro-bono shelter consultant. She volunteers with Houston’s Street Dog Coalition chapter and supports underserved, Houston-based students who want to obtain post-secondary education training. She is an avid birder, likes to go camping, and loves movies. Join Dr. Aziz as she speaks with Lisa about community access to care and shelter capacity for care in animal welfare!

Tama Lundquist and Tena Lundquist Faust are twin sisters and Po-Presidents of Houston PetSet. They have been working to elevate animal welfare in Houston since 2007 when they joined Houston PetSet’s board, and have grown the small local fundraising organization into the powerhouse that it is today. In 2023 they produced and starred in For The Animals, A Dogumentary, bringing to light the immense toll of Houston’s homeless animal crisis. They join Lisa to talk about Houston PetSet’s past, present and future as we celebrate 20 years #fortheanimals!

Trish McMillan is a certified professional dog trainer, certified dog behavior consultant and associate certified cat behavior consultant who holds a Master’s degree in Animal Behavior from the University of Exeter in England. Trish has a wide variety of experience in the animal behavior world, including seven years with the ASPCA where she helped assess and rehabilitate animals from cruelty, hoarding, and dogfighting cases, as well as pets rescued from natural disasters. Trish has a private behavior consulting company, and she founded Shelter Behavior Hub to be a behavior resource for animal shelter professionals. Join her and Lisa as they talk about addressing the animal welfare crisis and behavioral euthanasia.

Wild Tunes is a music therapy program for shelter animals started by Yuvi Agarwal, a 10-year-old animal and music lover. Each week, Yuvi goes to local shelters in Houston to play the keyboard for the animals in their care. Yuvi and his mom Priyanka are hoping to spread this local program across the country so that musicians can enrich the lives of shelter pets everywhere. Yuvi and Priyanka chat with Lisa about how the idea was born and how volunteers and shelters can get involved.

Part 4 – Media Relations

Laura Pennino has more than 40 years of experience as a writer, editor and public relations specialist who leverages her “Big Agency experience” and personalized approaches to support clients and media all over the world. Laura and her family have been rescuing and rehoming racehorses, dogs, cats, and goats for decades. Since August of 2020, she has fostered more than 50 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens and helped to place them for adoption with reputable rescue organizations. This is the final installment of a four-part series to help animal welfare organizations put their best foot forward. Tune in!

Cory Stottlemyer is a Deputy Shelter Director at BARC, overseeing the Outreach, Customer Service, and Registration teams. He also serves as the Director of Communications for the department of which BARC is a division of Administration and Regulatory Affairs. Cory began his career as a local newspaper reporter, covering the Fort Bend County area, before transitioning to municipal government, with a focus on crisis communications. Before joining the team at ARA, he served as the Public Information Officer for both the City of Houston’s Office of Emergency Management and Municipal Courts Departments. A newer team member at BARC, Cory has one foster fail dog from the shelter, in addition to two other dogs and a cat at home. Join Lisa and Cory as they talk about the state of animal welfare in Houston, and how BARC is trying to improve the crisis.

Sadhvi Siddhali Shree is the first North American female Jain monk, a US Army Iraq war combat veteran, a TEDx speaker, FORBES council member, activist, and an award-winning filmmaker. Sadhvi Anubhuti is an accomplished Jain monk, filmmaker, speaker, and activist who advocates for non-violence and human and animal rights. She is the Director of Operations of Siddhayatan Tirth and holds a BBA in Marketing and a Minor in French from the University of Houston.

Determined to bring about positive change and to help humans and animals who have suffered, Sadhvi Siddhali Shree directed and produced two award-winning documentaries: Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex Trafficking and Surviving Sex Trafficking, and co-directed and produced For the Animals: a Dogumentary, which raises awareness about the stray animal and overpopulation crisis in the United States by focusing on the city of Houston.

Sadhvi Anubhuti also worked on the two sex trafficking documentaries and made her co-directorial debut on For the Animals, which aims to relieve the pain and suffering of animals. Her inspiring mission has been recognized by major media outlets, including Forbes Mexico and Univision.

Join the monks as they share what led them to producing For The Animals, which features Houston PetSet Co-Presidents Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist.

Part 3 – Crisis Communications

Laura Pennino has more than 40 years of experience as a writer, editor and public relations specialist who leverages her “Big Agency experience” and personalized approaches to support clients and media all over the world. Laura and her family have been rescuing and rehoming racehorses, dogs, cats, and goats for decades. Since August of 2020, she has fostered more than 50 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens and helped to place them for adoption with reputable rescue organizations. Laura and Lisa will be presenting a multi-part series to help animal welfare organizations put their best foot forward. Tune in!

Part 2 – Public Image & Community Relationships

Laura Pennino has more than 40 years of experience as a writer, editor and public relations specialist who leverages her “Big Agency experience” and personalized approaches to support clients and media all over the world. Laura and her family have been rescuing and rehoming racehorses, dogs, cats, and goats for decades. Since August of 2020, she has fostered more than 50 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens and helped to place them for adoption with reputable rescue organizations. Laura and Lisa will be presenting a multi-part series to help animal welfare organizations put their best foot forward. Tune in!

Part 1 – Volunteer & Foster Recruitment

Laura Pennino has more than 40 years of experience as a writer, editor and public relations specialist who leverages her “Big Agency experience” and personalized approaches to support clients and media all over the world. Laura and her family have been rescuing and rehoming racehorses, dogs, cats, and goats for decades. Since August of 2020, she has fostered more than 50 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens and helped to place them for adoption with reputable rescue organizations. Laura and Lisa will be presenting a multi-part series to help animal welfare organizations put their best foot forward. Tune in!

Dr. Amanda Hanna graduated with honors from Texas A&M, College of Veterinary Medicine, in 2015. She has been in the field of veterinary medicine since 2001 when she graduated as a licensed veterinary technician from Seneca College in King City, ON, Canada.

In 2015, Dr. Hanna started working in private practice and developed a love of surgery after volunteering at BARC, an open intake shelter in Houston, Texas. Her surgical skills were further honed when she started a high volume-high quality surgical suite at Houston Pets Alive.

In 2021, Dr. Hanna saw a need in the Houston rescue community for more clinics offering affordable veterinary services and founded Houston Spay Neuter. She enjoys working with rescue groups to support causes such as improving animal welfare and decreasing animal overpopulation in the Greater Houston Area. Join Dr. Hanna and Lisa as they discuss the state of veterinary medicine within animal welfare.

Shelby Bobosky is the Executive Director at the Texas Humane Legislation Network. She and her incredible team have been hard at work during the 88th Texas Legislative Session in Austin. There are several important animal welfare bills they are working to pass, and others they are working very hard to stop. Tune in as Shelby and Lisa review the most important bills being discussed right now, and learn how you can make an impact for Texas animals.

Check out the legislative priorities here: https://www.thln.org/legislative_session

Mary Tipton is the cofounder of K-9 Angels Rescue. They have helped rehome over 12,000 shelter animals since 2011, through adoptions and transport. She was the first rescue to be allowed to pull from the Harris County Shelter in 2011, when they still had to pay to save animals.

Mary also helped create The Empty Shelter Project in 2016. TESP goes into underserved communities to vaccinate, microchip and alter owned animals for free. Since their inception, they have altered more than 11,000 animals, reducing the breeding population by significant numbers and saving tax payers millions of dollars that would have been spent on housing, feeding and caring for homeless shelter animals. In her lifetime, she hopes to see Houston’s shelters completely empty of unwanted dogs and cats. Join Mary and Lisa as they talk about the vital work these organizations are doing to meet this goal.

Becky Best has nearly 30 years of professional experience serving in corporate social responsibility and public relations roles in Michigan and Texas. Most recently, she became the director of the Gulf Coast Animal Welfare Alliance (GCAWA), a collaborative effort to help people and pets in Greater Houston. She serves as a board member for the BARC Advisory Committee and Public Relations Society of America – Houston Chapter, and lives in Houston with her significant other Mark, three personal rescue dogs, two foster dogs, and one very angry cat.

Noelle Delgado is the Executive Director of Houston Pets Alive!, a rescue committed to saving the lives of companion cats and dogs and finding them loving homes. Her work in rescue, though relatively brief, capitalizes on her greatest passion: bringing remarkable people together to support their communities. Noelle supports a team of leadership staff, managers, veterinarians, staff members, 500 fosters, 1,100 volunteers and 3,000 animals annually. Join Lisa, Noelle and Becky as they discuss the launch of the GCAWA and what it aims to achieve for animals and people in the Gulf Coast region.

Adam Reynolds is the Chief Cruelty Investigator with the Houston SPCA. He is a retired Marine with 21 years of service. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security from American Military University, a Master’s degree from George Washington University in Security and Safety Leadership, and will graduate in May from The George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University with an Executive Masters in Public Service and Administration. You won’t want to miss this episode as Lisa and Adam walk you through the processes behind cruelty cases, from report to courtroom.

Mindy Guthrie moved to Houston in 1983 and grew up near Cypress. Although a longtime animal lover, she spent most of her fundraising career in education, the arts, and health. She joined Houston PetSet in 2021 to merge her love for animals with her professional expertise. The most fulfilling part of her job is matching a donor’s philanthropic passion to the organization’s mission and goals. Join Mindy and Lisa as they talk about tips and tricks for animal welfare nonprofit fundraising!

Dr. Elizabeth Pearlman has a B.S. in Biology and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Purdue University in 2016. Although she was always drawn to veterinary shelter medicine, she found the impact of veterinary forensics on animal cruelty cases to be inspiring. Following graduation from veterinary school, Dr. Pearlman practiced as a small animal emergency veterinarian in Indianapolis, followed by a year as a staff veterinarian for the Houston SPCA. In the summer of 2018, she joined The ASPCA full time as a forensic veterinarian. Dr. Pearlman is passionate about veterinary forensics and teaching. She discusses animal cruelty trends in Houston with Tama and Tena in this week’s episode.

Janis Bradley is a science writer, specializing in the role of bias, particularly related to breed, and in policy making regarding canine/human relationships. She maintains a research library for the National Canine Research Council for use by academics, dog professionals, media, and the public. From 2000 to 2009 she taught and certified more than 450 professional dog trainers at the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers which was at its inception, the only such science-based school for dog trainers in the country. She also maintained a private behavior modification and training practice for many years. Janis joins Tena and Tama to discuss breed identification and bias in this week’s episode.

Trish McMillan is a certified professional dog trainer, certified dog behavior consultant and associate certified cat behavior consultant who holds a Master’s degree in Animal Behavior from the University of Exeter in England. Trish has a wide variety of experience in the animal behavior world, including seven years with the ASPCA where she helped assess and rehabilitate animals from cruelty, hoarding, and dogfighting cases, as well as pets rescued from natural disasters. Trish has a private behavior consulting company, and she presents seminars and webinars all over the world. Join Tena and Tama as they talk with Trish about the great “nature vs. nurture” conundrum and the difficult subject of behavioral euthanasia.

Sir Darius Brown has a heart of gold. He is a powerhouse teen social entrepreneur, speaker, shelter pet advocate, philanthropist, a recipient of the Global Child Prodigy Award, and the Founder & CEO of Beaux & Paws where he designs and creates handmade stylish bow ties. Sir Darius talks with Tena and Tama about what inspires him and how he hopes to help homeless pets.

Heather Crane is the owner of Sea Dog Animal Training in Houston. She has a Master’s Degree in Wildlife Science, and before training domestic pets, she worked with wild animals including sea lions and seals. Heather discusses humane husbandry and how pet owners can ensure their pets are living enriched lives. Listen to this week’s episode of Conversations for the Animals to gain better insight into animal behavior and welfare.

Dr. Jonathan Cooper, veterinarian and co-owner of Westbury Animal Hospital in Bellaire, speaks to Houston PetSet about the current state of the veterinary industry. With a shortage of veterinarians and an abundance of compassion fatigue, learn about what it will take to support veterinary professionals in their quest to care for our pets. Listen to this week’s episode of Conversations For The Animals to learn more about life as a veterinarian.