Erik Alsop, Animal Care Associate
Erik is a writer and farmer who lives in the North East Kingdom. He has a family of three dogs who keep him busy when he is at home. In Prior to NCAL, Erik has worked at animal shelters in northern California as well as with private pit bull rescue organizations.
Carlee Brion, Shelter Director
Carlee Brion began working for NCAL in 2012 after graduating college in New Hampshire and moving to Vermont. Carlee has spent a few years caring for dogs and cats as a Shelter Associate, caring for customers and animals alike as NCAL’s Customer Service Manager, and was promoted to Pet Adoption Center Manager in May of 2017. Carlee has recently been promoted to Shelter Director. Growing up, Carlee always had animals living in her home. She currently has two rescue pups and two cats. Carlee loves living in Vermont and exploring all that it has to offer. Carlee and her dogs, Winnie and Roscoe, enjoy hiking and running in the warmer months (although Winnie is secretly is a couch potato at heart).
Meagan Ferris, Animal Care Associate
Animals have always been a big part of Meagan’s life, and she has considered each one of her adopted pets as family. Prior to joining NCAL in November 2016, Meagan’s worked at an SPCA veterinary clinic in Orlando, Florida, and before that at a daycare and boarding facility where she enjoyed interacting with the animals. When she is not busy with the animals, Meagan enjoys photography, painting, kickboxing, hiking, and taking part in any long outdoor adventures with her daughter, Ryker, and Labrador retriever, Endo.
Andrew Franklin, Animal Care & Adoptions Associate
Before NCAL, Andrew has had years of experience with dogs, having worked as a dog walker as well as a grooming van manager. Besides occupying his time with the shelter animals, he enjoys farming, skiing and camping. He hopes to own his own free range dog sanctuary one day.
Kevin Gallagher, Animal Care Associate
Kevin was unable to adopt his first dog until age 21, which may explain why now Kevin’s life now is so dog-centric. After spending “too many years” in the Banking and Insurance industry, Kevin found his perfect retirement job helping to care for the dogs at NCAL. At the shelter, Kevin provides care and nurturing to the dogs as they await their forever home.
Josée Gingues, Animal Health Manager
Josée arrived from the Eastern Townships of Quebec and settled in Northern Vermont in 2016. Realizing quickly after her arrival that she had discovered her paradise, she made the decision that this was where her home and future would permanently reside.
Josée had developed a passion for animals at a young age and earned a degree in veterinary technology from Sherbrooke College in 2007. As a veterinary technician, Josée was part of a team at Rock Forest Veterinary Hospital which now encompasses 11 clinics spread throughout the Province of Quebec.
Josée is excited to be able to bring her knowledge and experience to NCAL and help foster its core mission to promote compassionate and responsible relationships between humans and animals. Josée is bilingual and is often found in the woods with her dog Aonghus or on a yoga mat.
Tracy Goldfine, Executive Director
Tracy grew up in Waitsfield, VT, where from a young age she was a passionate animal rescuer. She would regularly bring home barn cats, injured squirrels, and birds with broken wings, and luckily her parents fostered this passion. After graduating from the University of Vermont, Tracy moved to Wyoming with her dog, Kota, where she fulfilled her dream of becoming a cowgirl while working on ranches and managing the care of large herds of horses. Tracy’s professional career included working in public relations, publishing, and marketing in Utah, Wyoming, and California. She returned to Vermont in 2007, and became involved in the nonprofit field through grant writing and development work, and went on to earn her graduate certification in nonprofit management from Marlboro College.
Tracy was founding director of Hope Grows Community Farm, a nonprofit in Hyde Park dedicated to working with at-risk youth and horses. She later joined River Arts in Morrisville as development director and then executive director. Most recently she worked as communications director for Children’s Literacy Foundation.
Tracy is excited to combine her passion for nonprofit work with her deep belief in animal rescue, adoption, education, and spay/neuter. She lives in Stowe with her husband, two children, two dogs, cat, and pony.
Lusana Masrur, Humane Education and Communications Manager
Lusana’s earliest memories include farm animals, cats, dogs, rabbits and a crane, all of whom helped her become an animal lover. After college, she worked as the E-Coordinator for the SPCA of Erie County, in Buffalo, New York. She was also the Communication Coordinator for Obhoyaronno -Bangladesh Animal Welfare Foundation and continues to be invested in her home country’s animal welfare movement. In addition, she has worked in youth development in Buffalo, NY and in disaster management and climate change mitigation in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Work and education have taken her to Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Thailand, but she now calls Vermont her home. Lusana’s love for animals also inspires her to follow a plant-based lifestyle. She hopes to contribute to NCAL’s diverse pool of talents with her non-profit, education and communication background.
Jess McLeon, Animal Care & Adoptions Associate
Jess began working at NCAL in 2012. As a Shelter Associate, Jess helps care for the daily needs of both dogs and cats. From a very young age, she has had a love for animals and has always hoped to find a career that would allow her to work with them. At NCAL, she enjoys caring for the dogs and cats and playing a part in their second chance at life. Jess also serves as NCAL’s staff photographer, capturing the beauty in every animal and helping market each one which improves their chances at finding forever homes.
Connie Riggs, DVM – Veterinarian
This year marks the 30thanniversary of Connie’s entry into the practice of small animal veterinary medicine and surgery. After graduating from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine she sought out an additional year of advanced training by completing a small animal internship in medicine and surgery at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Returning to her roots in the Northeast, she then took a job in Derry, New Hampshire at an internal medicine referral practice receiving ongoing learning and clinical training from three board certified medicine specialists. Connie moved to Vermont after the birth of her first son and joined and became a co-owner of one of the largest veterinary practices in Central Vermont, where she remained for eleven years. After her second child, she founded and ran a small full-service MASH unit vet hospital in rural Worcester, VT for 10 years.
Having been owned by animals her whole life, Connie has a thorough understanding of the nuances of animal health, behavior, and nursing care. She enjoys using her knowledge and training to help the shelter animals that come through NCAL, while also helping to maximize financial efficiency in veterinary care, allowing NCAL’s resources to reach more animals in need.
Kaylyn Rood – Customer Care Coordinator
Majoring in Business as well as Feline Behavior & Training, Kaylyn aims to help cat owners in their times of need. She cannot remember ever living in a home that had less than five cats. That being said, it is easy to guess that Kaylyn is quite the cat whisperer. She has had many unbelievable adventures with her cat Oliver and gives plenty of love to her rescue Pear, along with all the fosters who come into her home.
Shelby Schwartz – Canine Behaviorist and Trainer
With a degree in Psychology and Field Biology, Shelby originally moved to Vermont to teach snowboarding. That being said, she has worked with animals her whole life, from rats to horses, and even great apes! Eventually however, she discovered her true calling with dogs and started her canine career in 2009 with doggy daycares, organizing play groups and doing informal training with the regulars. Shelby has also worked with a team of Siberian huskies giving dog sled tours which made her an obvious choice for NCAL’s Canine Supervisor. Now as the Canine Behaviorist and Trainer, she helps NCAL’s rescue dogs increase socialization skills and manners during their time in the shelter environment. With three rescue dogs of her own (one being from NCAL), her love and passion for dog’s could not be more evident!
A natural dog whisperer, Shelby believes that with time, patience and practice, anyone can understand canine behavior and learn to work with it. In the Positive Reinforcement Training classes she provides, she has seen first-hand how the method can strengthen the bond between owner and dog. Positive Reinforcement Training uses praise and or treats to reward your dog for doing something you want him/her to do because the reward makes your dog more likely to repeat the behavior.