PawsCo is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to animals. Our team is proud to serve the dogs and cats who need us the most. Get to know us below!
Staff
Madison Martin, Vice President of Operations
Madison grew up with a house full of animals (her own siblings included), so it only made sense to create a home of furry children for her own! Madison has two rescue pups and four rescue cats, and two daughters. A marketing professional turned biologist, Madison is excited to share her passion for animals with others in the community as the Executive Director for PawsCo. She’s also currently taking classes at CSU to complete her biology undergraduate degree with the goal of applying to vet school.
Pets: Dogs – Breck and Modus. Cats – Aviva, Zelda, Sake Bomb, and Wilco
Volunteer Leadership Team
Julia Goodman, Senior Director of Brand Management
Julia and her husband adopted their dog Ringo from PawsCo in 2019. Ringo made such an immediate and amazing impact on their life that Julia decided to get involved as a volunteer for PawsCo. She started as a bio writer in 2020, joined the social media team shortly after, and is now the Senior Director of Brand Management. Julia has a soft spot for the dogs and cats that have a hard time finding the right home, and believes that every animal has the perfect person or family out there waiting for them. She is passionate about telling the stories of nonprofits with the world, and does marketing for a Denver nonprofit that provides transitional housing for single-parent families.
Katelyn Massey, Senior Director of Operations
Katelyn wholeheartedly believes in PawsCo’s mission and has held various Leadership Team positions over the past 8+ years. In her day job she is a Digital Marketing, and as a Senior Director for PawsCo, she focuses on process improvements, website updates, strategic partnerships, and more. She has a soft spot for senior animals and bully breeds, but loves pups of all shapes and sizes! She spends her free time dog-walking and pup-sitting, reading, and listening to podcasts.
Anais Salcido, Co-Senior Director of Animal Relations
Anais is a true animal lover with a passion for improving the welfare of animals. Her dedication to animal rescue and welfare is evident through her work and personal life and she understands first-hand the important role animals play in our lives, and this drives her to make a difference. She finds it rewarding to see animals come around and heal from past traumas.In 2020, Anais began volunteering with PawsCo and has since dedicated her time and efforts to helping animals in need. Her goal is to continue her work in animal rescue and make a positive impact on the lives of animals.
Pets: Dogs – Ollie, Spencer. Cats – Sadie, Sophie
Haifa Sweeny, Co-Senior Director of Animal Relations
Haifa joined the Pawsco team in January 2022 in memory of her beautiful chihuahua-mix, Olive, who was rescued as a puppy by a foster. Haifa wants to give other animals the same opportunity to thrive and feel safe while they find their forever families. Aside from her volunteer work with Pawsco, Haifa enjoys cooking elaborate meals with her husband, traveling, spending time with friends, and working at her day-job in marketing.
Pet: Olive
Abbey O’Neal, Foster Director
Linda Chase, Foster Associate Director
Linda Chase is a first grade teacher as well a children’s yoga instructor. She always has loved animals and is passionate about animal welfare and humane education. She believes that an important part of her job is educating children about animals and how they can be a voice for them. She began volunteering with PawsCo in March of 2018, doing Intake shifts. She hopes to expand the amazing things PawsCo is doing to include youth. Animal welfare and sheltering have changed so much in so many good ways and she believes that bringing children up to be more positively and compassionately involved in society is what will completely transform the lives and well-being of animals.
Brooke Bronson, Foster Associate Director
Brooke has loved animals her whole life, growing up in Minnesota with several dogs. She has volunteered with PawsCo helping in several capacities from Events to Foster Team and has fostered over 20 dogs. She enjoys onboarding and mentoring new fosters to keep them engaged and active in order to save more animals. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, camping, reading, and traveling.
Dicia Kemp, Intake Director
A Colorado native, Dicia lives in Denver with her dogs Cresta and Ziggy, as well as a Cat named Lil, all rescues. She has been passionate about giving voice to vulnerable populations both through work and volunteering. Dicia has been involved with PawsCo since 2013 and is still amazed daily by the incredible people this rescue draws in.She enjoys the outdoors and spending time with loved ones.
Ashton Wilpiszeski, Shelter Relations Director
Ashton has always been an animal lover and has never had a time in her life without a dog or cat (or both!) by her side. Ashton moved to Colorado in 2014 with her husband, and after they bought their first house a year later, she immediately began to look for ways to get more involved with local animal welfare groups. Ashton began as a foster for PawsCo and is now a part of the Shelter Relations team. Connecting animals with fosters and freeing up shelter space has become a passion for Ashton, and she loves being able to help save dozens of cats and dogs every year!
Cats: Dougie, Thaddeus & Brooklyn
Kella Manfredi, Shelter Relations Associate Director
Kella was a part of the inaugural PawsCo team in 2013 and is proud to still be with PawsCo a decade later. She has spent the last four years on the Shelter Relations Team working with shelter partners in Colorado. She values the dedication and passion of PawsCo volunteers and feels honored to be part of the solution. Kella is a dedicated foster and is on her 97th foster dog and counting. Kella truly believes in the underdog as a pitbull advocate, chihuahua lover, and giant breed specialist. Her mission is to rehabilitate and nurture those who need us most, especially those coming from neglect or abuse.
Pets: Tinysaurus Rex, Sloth & Partner
Aileen Beckler, Shelter Relations Associate Director
Aileen is an animal lover through and through and has always had a passion for animal welfare. She was first introduced to PawsCo when she adopted her cat from the organization and began volunteering in the spring of 2022 to honor the memory of her beloved dog, Mars. Aileen enjoys volunteering on the Shelter Relations team and seeing firsthand the positive impact that is made through matching animals with fosters and freeing up much needed shelter space. Beyond her day job and volunteering with PawsCo, Aileen enjoys spending time outside, fiber arts and curling up with a good book.
Pet: Bert (PawsCo Alum)
Lisa Frazer, Vet Care Director
Lisa became involved with PawsCo after her sister adopted a dog from the organization. She has always been passionate about animal welfare and is dedicated to making sure the animals receive the medical care they need and deserve. By day, Lisa is a family law attorney. She has fostered over fifty animals and looks forward to fostering more.
Dogs: Newman, Mike and PawsCo Alum King Rufus
Cats: Boris and Frankie
Megan Davan, Vet Care Associate Director
Megan is a Colorado native who has always been an animal lover, wanting to help animals since childhood. She started fostering for PawsCo in 2013 and soon realized she had a passion for animal rescue. She has held various roles within PawsCo, and now loves being part of the vet team. Megan has two rescue pups of her own, Norri and Kahlua, and believes that every animal deserves a forever home, which is what motivates her to volunteer with PawsCo.
Emily Kelly-Fischer, Training Director
Emily joined the PawsCo team in summer 2021, inspired by her rescue pups. Emily is a dog behavior nerd who loves helping pet guardians learn the best ways to communicate with their animals in a positive way and to set them up for successful, joyful lives in their adoptive homes. When not volunteering with PawsCo, Emily works in nonprofit administration and enjoys gardening with her pup Cincy, who’s very good at digging holes in the backyard.
Natalie Marvin, Training Associate Director
Natalie found her passion for dogs in 2016 when she started walking and boarding dogs in her Brooklyn apartment. Since then she has foster-failed her dog, Beanie, and has been working with dogs professionally for 8 years. Natalie is currently studying for her dog training certification. While in Brooklyn, she volunteered with a local foster rescue for 7 years to help transport and handle dogs. It was such a fulfilling feeling seeing these dogs off to their new lives. She moved to Colorado in 2023 and wanted to get involved with a local rescue. PawsCo looked like the perfect place to volunteer!
Mallory Scott, Volunteer Director
Mallory started with PawsCo in 2020 with a desire to get more involved in the Denver community and specifically to work with an animal welfare organization that helps dogs like her rescue, Duke. She jumped in feet-first into the Volunteer Director position with a drive to help grow the Volunteer Team and ensure that all volunteers feel connected and valued at PawsCo. When Mallory isn’t volunteering with PawsCo, she works for a benefits administration technology company in the Denver Tech Center. Mallory is a proud Colorado native and grad of CU Boulder!
Pets: Duke (a rescue pup who thinks he truly is royalty)
Esther Books, Relinquishment Director
Jennifer Thomson, Marketing Director
Jennifer’s desire to help animals began at a young age, when she began mailing her modest weekly allowance to the Denver Dumb Friends League. After her parents intercepted a subsequent credit card offer, they explained that sending cash via USPS was perhaps not the best way to get involved. Fast forward an undisclosed number of decades and Jennifer has found PawsCo! Starting in 2023, she’s been coordinating and crafting our emails (please subscribe!) and is excited to tackle even more as Marketing Director.
Erin Natsume, Content Director
Erin first started volunteering with PawsCo in 2023 when she fostered, then adopted, her first dog Millie. She continued her volunteer efforts helping with organizing content, animal biographies, and giving voices to animals in need of homes. She has a passion for helping animals and getting involved with a community of people who believe in giving shelter pets a chance to find loving, forever homes.
Pet: Millie
Ethan Cook, Photography Director
In 2017 Ethan and his family had a great experience with PawsCo when they adopted their dog Joie. In 2022, he was looking to volunteer his photography services and it just made sense to reach out to PawsCo. Born and raised in Colorado, he resides in Broomfield with his amazing family. Aside from photography, music is another passion of his. When he’s not doing either of those, you can find him spending time with his family, enjoying the outdoors or experiencing all that Colorado has to offer. Ethan is excited to be working with PawsCo using photography as a tool to help animals find their forever home.
Chase Eackles, Technology Director
Chase caught the rescue bug after she adopted her first cat (Maxx) and dog (Wembley) – first with neighborhood animals that would randomly show up on her front porch, then to a more formal foster role with an organization. She is thrilled to be a part of PawsCo’s Technology Team – assisting with posting bios and keeping the website up and running!
Pets: two rescue terriers, Wembley and Piper
Katie Dahm, Partnerships Director
Katie started volunteering in animal welfare after she lost her 14-year-old rescue pup, Gomez. She joined PawsCo in 2016 and has since served as a foster and in various director and senior director roles. She has a soft spot for fostering bully breeds and special needs cases. She currently enjoys connecting community partners with PawsCo to help support our fosters. During the day, Katie is a clinical psychologist in a trauma clinic.
Jake Guggenmos, Transport Director
Jake became involved with PawsCo after transitioning from a dog groomer to an office job and missing the four-legged companionship. He has always been passionate about animal welfare and loves to look for unique ways to get involved – specifically, ways to help when fostering isn’t right for your household. When not volunteering, Jake enjoys challenging hikes, rock climbing and spending time with his dog (Baby Ruth) and cat (Kit Kat).
Charlene Emory-Proctor, Marketing Director
Mary Ervin, Relinquishments Associate Director
Mary joined PawsCo in memory of her former PawsCo rescue, Dooder, after moving back to the Denver area in the fall of 2023. She’s had rescue pets her entire life and started fostering with PawsCo to help dogs on their journey to find their forever homes. She has a soft spot for the shutdown dogs trying to adjust and trust again! She enjoyed fostering so much that she wanted to become more involved in helping other dogs to avoid difficult situations and the shelter environment. Outside of PawsCo, Mary works as a speech language pathologist in skilled nursing communities, and enjoys spending time with friends, reading, travel, and scuba diving.
Cristina Taormina, Transport Associate Director
Cristina is a passionate animal lover and devoted advocate for animal welfare. She joined PawsCo to lend a hand in helping vulnerable animals find their forever homes and live their happiest lives. She works on different teams within PawsCo and is always eager to pitch in where needed. She believes that while you can’t change an animal’s past, you can create a brighter future for them. When not volunteering, Cristina is an avid reader, classic movie buff and loves snapping pictures of her foster pets with silly filters.
Emma Firnett, Events Director