Board of Directors

Alison Beckwith

Alison Beckwith is a real estate broker and mother of four animal-loving kids, ages 9-28. She moved to Stowe from the Virgin Islands twenty years ago and has adopted three dogs from North Country Animal League over the years. Currently, Diego and Sophie (the “what is it?” wonder-dog) are the family companions and are enthusiastic hikers and explorers. Alison joined NCAL to help support the efforts of the dedicated staff and Board.

Mary Brock

Mary (Jackson) Brock graduated from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. She recently retired after a long career working as a consultant and trainer for the automobile industry. Mary joined the NCAL board in 2012. She and her husband Tom live in Stowe and Palm Coast, Florida with their two rescue dogs and cats.

Charla Crawford

Charla brings to NCAL expertise in operations and digital marketing – as well as a passion for animals and the NCAL mission. Once a nationally ranked equestrian from Ohio, she now resides in Stowe and Jupiter Florida with her fiancé Bill Davis and their rescue dog, Poppy. After retiring from a position as an operations executive from Resource Ammirati, an IBM company, she now assists Bill with his business interests.

Maggie Macdonald

Maggie is currently a member of the Smith Macdonald Group at Coldwell Banker Carlson Real Estate in Stowe. She has been a top performer in the luxury real estate markets of New York City and Lake Tahoe. She is also an accomplished digital marketing and advertising executive who has generated innovative campaigns across multiple competitive global industries for agencies like R/GA, Droga5 and Hill Holliday in New York and Boston. Maggie’s love of animals led her to earn a degree in Animal Sciences at the University of Vermont. Over the years she’s adopted two dogs (Gizmo and Ellie) and two cats (Montgomery and Inkspot) from NCAL.

John D. Miller Jr.

John currently serves as a Vice President at the Vermont Law School in South Royalton. He oversees the enrollment, financial aid, communications, and marketing functions for the law school. John is from Albany, NY and moved to Vermont in 2006 to attend law school. In addition to his JD, he his AAS in Criminal Justice from Hudson Valley Community College, and his BS in Law and Society from The Sage Colleges. John lives in Waterbury with his partner and their lovable boxer Oliver and their cat Sammy, “the tortie with a lot of “tude!”

Max Neal

Born in Nebraska (a prairie girl), Max migrated to New England in 1959 and has called New England home ever since. Chamber of Commerce work is Max’s passion as it gives her the opportunity to make a positive difference in our communities. Max currently serves as interim executive director of Lamoille Region Chamber of Commerce, and prior to that served as executive director there. Max is a member of the Stowe Rotary Club, Morrisville Rotary Club, board member at Community Health Services of Lamoille County, Vestry Member and serves on the Stewardship Committee at St. John’s in the Mountains in Stowe. She joined the Board of Directors at NCAL in October, 2016.

Karen Nielsen

Karen is a graduate of the University of Vermont and Cambridge University with degrees in biology. Karen is currently employed by Suncommon, a solar energy company, where she is a Solar Project Consultant. She has been surrounded by animals all of her life and has given a home to many rescued animals including squirrels, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, dogs, cats and horses. Karen has fostered many litters of kittens for NCAL and is now a board member. She lives in Waterbury Center with two dogs, Carlitos and Misha, rescued from Costa Rica.

Patti C. Rubin, Board Vice President

An animal lover and vegan with a passion for cats, Patti shares her home in Stowe with her NCAL-adopted cat Zhivago. She became a weekly NCAL cat room volunteer in 2009. Patti is Lifecycle Event Coordinator for the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe (JCOGS). She is also a founding member of the Greater Stowe Interfaith Coalition. She joined the board in 2012, and currently serves as Vice President.

Jess Russell, Board President, Treasurer

Jess moved to Vermont in 2007 and after getting her dog Ramble, fell in love with the area’s animal welfare community. She works as a Business Manager for a local financial firm and spends her free time enjoying the outdoors with her husband Bob, and two dogs Ramble and Rider (her cat Owsley, an NCAL alum, prefers to stay home). Jess joined the board in the Spring of 2011, and currently serves as Board President and Treasurer.