A New Year, A New PBRC

The change in the calendar brought some changes at Pit Bull Rescue Central. Holly Bukes and Dawn Carroll have ended their terms as President and Vice President, respectively. Holly will remain on the PBRC team, while Dawn, one of the organization’s earliest members, will be moving on to new adventures.

The new Executive Committee is looking forward to 2011 as year of exciting ideas, energetic leadership and a renewed commitment to propelling the organization forward to help more dogs than ever.

Here’s a preview of a few projects PBRC is working on in the New Year:

• Creating a PBRC Task Force to assist with large scale rescue operations.
• Even more great blog content and building our community through social media (Find us on Facebook and Twitter).
• Great new pit-friendly products and an even bigger and better PoppyMart.
• Enhanced resources for rescuers, owners and advocates.
• Recruiting to expand our volunteer base. (Interested in becoming a PBRC Volunteer? Click here to apply.)

Meet the New Officers

We are pleased to introduce PBRC’s new Executive Committee, whose long histories with PBRC, general animal welfare backgrounds and diverse skill sets not only make them excellent candidates for these positions, but also make for a dynamic leadership team:

• President: Stephanie Feldstein
  
• Co-Executive Director: Chris Cook
• Co-Executive Director: Tiffany McBee
• Vice President: Amiela Ciontos
• Continuing as Treasurer: Alexis Kelly
• Secretary: Jessica Roubitchek

Please take a minute to get to know each one of our team by reading the biographies below.

All of the nominated candidates for the officer positions were passionate volunteers, dedicated to a positive future for pit bulls. They each also had impressive backgrounds, making the choice difficult (and also making us realize how lucky we are to have such a talented team at PBRC).

With Sincere Appreciation

The executive committee would also like to express their appreciation to Holly Bukes, PBRC President from 2003-2010, and to Dawn Carroll, PBRC Vice President 2001-2010. As part of the previous leadership team, they have assisted in developing PBRC from an organization with a single volunteer and zero dollars to the successful organization it is today. Their years of dedication will have a positive impact on Pit Bulls and their people for years to come. Thank you both for your inspiration!

Biographies

Stephanie Feldstein – President: Stephanie is the editor for the Animals cause at Change.org. Previously, she worked in the non-profit field, most recently as the Development Director of the Ecology Center, an environmental advocacy organization. She served as Vice President on the Board of Directors of Earth Share of Michigan and as Secretary on the Board of Pit Bull Rescue Central. She has been part of the animal welfare and pit bull rescue community for over 10 years, as an animal shelter employee, foster home, dog trainer, behavior helpline responder, outreach/events volunteer, and rescue consultant. She also writes novels exploring animal welfare issues and the human-animal bond.

On a personal note: Stephanie lives in Michigan with a rescued menagerie of two Shepherd mixes, three Pit Bulls and two cats.

Chris Cook – Co-Executive Director: Chris has worked in the veterinary field as a Registered Veterinary Technician for almost 25 years. During that time she has worked in general practice, specialty practice, practice management and diagnostic laboratories. Chris fell in love with Pit Bulls during her early years of veterinary technician education/work and for many years operated a personal rescue effort that assisted many needy dogs and owners. Having been a volunteer with PBRC since 1999, her work has included creation and start up of the Volunteer Committee and she has served on the Adoption Application Team, Medical Fund Committee, Donor Relations Team and on the BOD as Co Chair of Volunteer Committee and PBRC Secretary.

On a personal note: Chris currently lives in Chandler, AZ with her husband Todd, rescued Staffordshire Bull Terrier Angus and assorted fish, birds, and houseplants. She enjoys photographing her dogs and has been the proud recipient of both local and national awards and calendar features.

Tiffany McBee – Co-Executive Director: Tiffany has been a PBRC volunteer since 2002, her work has included serving as the Treasurer, Chair of the Fund Committee, member of the Fundraising committee, Cafepress team and now processing adoption applications and co-chairing the newly formed PBRC Task Force committee. Tiffany is the founder of Broken Hearts, Mended Souls, a 501c3 mid-Missouri Pit Bull rescue group that features a free to low cost spay/neuter program for the residents of mid-Missouri. Most recently, she served as the President and Vice President from 2004 to 2008 for the Central Missouri Humane Society. During her tenure, the animal shelter overcame three years of deficit spending and won the national ZooToo.com shelter makeover contest valued at up to one million dollars.

On a personal note: Tiffany resides in Missouri with her husband Steve. They have two human children, Dalton and Austin, and five furry ones: Three Pit Bulls, one Cane Corso and a naughty little feline named Sugar.

Amiela Ciontos - Vice President: Ami has been involved in pit bull rescue and advocacy for the past 13 years, and has spent the last 8 years as a volunteer for Pit Bull Rescue Central. She has served on the PBRC Board of Directors as the chairperson of the Spay/Neuter Committee and was also the co-chair of the Fundraising Committee. Currently Ami serves on the PBRC Grant Committee and is the founder of the Atlanta Bully Rally, an annual event to celebrate National Pit Bull Awareness Day. She is also the founder and president of Atlanta Underdog Initiative, a pit bull and mastiff rescue group and a founding partner of Tails in the ‘Hood, an outreach program to educate pit bull owners on responsible dog ownership.

On a personal note: Ami shares her home with husband, David, and three Pit Bulls and one Pit Bull/Boxer mix. Ami and her family almost always have two or more Pit Bulls or Mastiffs in their care through foster care.

Jessica Roubitchek – Secretary: Jessica is currently the Director of Alumnae Relations and Individual Giving for the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, a council comprised of over 95,000 girls and 24,000 volunteers. She is responsible for identifying and cultivating major donors, and building an alumnae association with meaningful engagement opportunities. Jessica has been involved with the finance committee and PBRC's annual PoppyMart auction since 2009.

On a personal note: Jessica resides in Illinois with her husband and daughter. Because of PBRC and Pitbull-L, Jessica went from reluctant and uninformed Pit Bull owner in 2006 to the confident handler and breed advocate that she is today.

Alexis Kelly- Treasurer: Lex has has been involved in animal rescue for over 20 years and pit bull advocacy and rescue for the past seven years. She is the co-founder of Bmore Dog, a pit bull advocacy organization located in Baltimore, Maryland and has been a PBRC volunteer since 2006 and Treasurer since 2007. She is an accountant by trade, working in the commercial real estate development and finance industry since 1993.

On a personal note: Lex shares her home with three rescued pit bulls and several rescued kitties.