PENINSULA FRIENDS OF ANIMALS

BOARD-AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES

Special committees are authorized by the Board as needed. The purpose of each committee is defined at the time the committee is authorized. Each committee must have at least one board member. Any member of PFOA may serve on a special committee.

The following special committees meet on an as-needed basis:

Ann Gilson, Director

Our former President of the Board, Ann Gilson, originally retired from the Board of Directors in May, 2017. At the request of every Board member, Ann recently returned to the Board. Since the inception of PFOA, Ann has worked tirelessly in support of our organization. She was the editor of Pet Tidings for more years than she may care to remember, and has written many stories and articles for our newsletter for over ten years.

She has been a board member since the Board of Directors was formed in 2000, and served as President of the Board for the 2014-2015 term. Beginning in early childhood, she has loved and cared for more than 120 cats, most of whom had special needs. She designed and built her home in Port Angeles especially for the kitties!

Sharon Palmer, Director and Spay/Neuter Coordinator

Sharon Palmer is a Washingtonian and has lived in Sequim for 19 years. She joined PFOA 18 years ago and has fostered over 100 litters! Sharon has been the Spay/Neuter coordinator for low income families, holding clinics with two local veterinarians for PFOA-rescued felines.

Sharon has adopted five dogs and five cats over the years! She currently has one adopted dog and two PFOA rescue cats as part of her family.

Sharon also does volunteer work for three other local organizations.

Sharon Jensen, Secretary

Dr. Sharon Jensen has been a practicing veterinarian since 1984. A native of Washington state, Sharon is a graduate of Washington State University School of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Reed College in Portland. Sharon sold her clinic – Blue Mountain Animal Clinic – in July 2016. Although she still practices medicine there on Thursday and Friday, Sharon devotes her newly secured free time to animal welfare work through PFOA and environmental causes through other local groups.

Married to Bill Jensen, they have an interesting life. Avid boaters, they lived aboard their sailboat ‘Pelagian’ for over 12 years with their legendary sailing Cat Leif who lived his entire life aboard (departed for the Rainbow Bridge February 24, 2013). During that life chapter, they explored the wild beauty of both Canadian and US waters, eventually sailing out of Neah Bay and on to Mexico.

Settling in Sequim in the early 2000’s, they found themselves in their forever home. Time outside of the clinic now revolves around volunteer work, extended family, gardening, Bill’s hobby of bonsai and Dr. Sharon’s love of cooking.

Two lovely daughters live in the greater Seattle area as do two magnificent grandchildren! The Jensen home is ruled by felines Walter the 10 year old formerly feral boy, Larry a 3 year old 20 pound Maine Coon ‘baby’, and Juliette, a 6 year-old tabby who recently came home from PFOA and immediately took over the household.

Marilyn Ash, Treasurer and Media Manager

Marilyn spent 43 years in Information Technology, working for various public and investor-owned utility companies in California and Washington. She retired from Grant County Public Utility District in 2011. After retirement, she and her husband, Gary, designed their retirement home, and moved to Sequim in April 2012. They share their home with “the kids”: Itty Bitty (a shorthair calico mackerel tabby who “adopted us”), Peekaboo, a/k/a “Boo”, (a medium hair calico adopted from Spay to Save) and Cinnamon (the “queen bee” longhair tortie who came home from PFOA).

She has volunteered at PFOA since June, 2012. She began with socializing the kitties, then moved into media, photography and graphic design work. She was elected to the Board of Directors in 2013, and served as Board Secretary from 2015-2017. She is currently the PFOA Media Manager and Board Treasurer. In addition to her Treasurer responsibilities, she maintains the websites, designed a new website in 2018, designs flyers and posters, designs special media for fundraising events, is editor of and writes for our quarterly newsletter (Pet Tidings), and prepares weekly and monthly advertising for local newspapers.

Her favorite activities include swimming, gardening, reading, playing with the kitties, Downton Abbey, and NFL football (GO HAWKS!)

Nancy Campbell, Vice President and Shelter Director

Born in Arkansas I began rescuing cats at the age of three when I was offered one of my grandmother’s feral kittens if I would give up sucking my thumb. Hard choice, but the lure of having my own cat won out, and helping animals has been the focus of my life for the past 50 years.

My business career has been varied—I have worked in sales and marketing, bookkeeping and as an executive assistant and fund control officer. For the past 25 years, my husband of 47 years, Dallas, and I have owned a marine repair business in Port Angeles, which we continue to operate. While living in California, I volunteered for and served on the board of a spay/neuter nonprofit. Upon moving to Washington state with our eight cats in tow in the mid 80’s, I continued to help strays and acquired more cats who seemed to show up at the door knowing there would be a place for them inside. Down from a high of 14 cats, we currently care for two lovely cats and have four rescue dogs of our own.

In 2000, I was told of a cat rescue group organizing in the Sequim area and attended their first meeting. I was soon heavily involved in rescuing, adopting out and caring for the more than fifty cats already in the care of the newly formed Peninsula Friends of Animals. After receiving our non-profit status and setting up our bylaws, I was elected to the Board of Directors. I have continued to serve for the past 17 years on the Board as Vice-President and Treasurer.

In 2001, I was involved in finding and purchasing our current home, Safe Haven, where PFOA is headquartered. I am currently the Shelter Director, and also work as a Shelter Manager at our facility. I started and ran a successful Dog Program for many years, and five special needs dogs continue to be fostered in our home. Over 3000 cats have passed through my hands, and each of them has been a privilege to help on their way to a new life.

Several years ago, we moved from our lovely old Cape Cod house in Port Angeles to a country property with 14 acres where we can provide a better environment for our animals. This location requires more time and attention than we have been able to give it, so we are looking forward to “retirement” in the near future. PFOA will always be part of my life—whether serving on the Board or just supporting the wonderful work done by the organization.

Kevin Rose, President

Kevin Rose is currently the president of Peninsula Friends of Animals Board of Directors. Kevin has spent the last seven years working in cat rescue for PFOA and has been a care giver for a number of cats over the last twenty-five years.
Before his involvement in cat rescue Kevin had a long career with Olympic National Park’s trail crew and with various elements of the logging trade, where he specialized in handling the most hazardous and complex cutting jobs.

Thankful to have come out of all of that alive and relatively unscathed, Kevin looks forward to helping as many of his feline friends find happy homes and enriched lives as he is able to. Kevin currently resides outside of Port Angeles WA with his wife Kathryn three cats and a dog.

 
MARTHA was born in May, 2001 and came to PFOA in February, 2002. She loves attention and “talks” to the volunteers who regularly visit her. She was recently placed in a foster home, where she has adjusted well and has a happy home.