Category: Personnel

David Gorton is a Finance Manager with almost 10 years of accounting, finance, and strategic planning experience. Understanding not everyone loves data, spreadsheets, and financial modeling as much as he does, he’s thrilled to support the well-being of Seattle’s animals through thoughtful, prudent financial planning. David is an avid distance-runner, and he spends much of his time outdoors with his wife Amy and rescue Nika. David is an alumni of Eastern Washington University, holds active CPA and CMA licenses, and has previously served on boards for other local non-profits.

Kara Main-Hester, Ph.D., has over 13 years of public sector experience in policy and budget development, fiscal reporting, and strategic planning. Before joining Snohomish County, Main-Hester served as a Fiscal and Policy Analyst at the City of Seattle Budget Office, where she provided analysis, insight, and oversight on issues related to public safety, police accountability, emergency management, and homelessness and human services. She also served as the Deputy Director of the Seattle Animal Shelter. In that role, Kara oversaw the animal care, animal behavior, customer service, volunteer, budget and policy efforts of SAS. Kara is most passionate about helping dogs with reactivity and anxiety who often end up in shelters and foster programs. She has been a speaker for the Humane Society of the United States, ASPCA and the University of Washington’s Law School and Applied Animal Behavior Certificate Program.

Kara is a published academic author and has a Ph.D. in Microbiology. She shares her home with her rescued pit bull (Mavis), a cat (Henri) and a very understanding husband.

2023 Board President

Alex Clarke is a marketing professional currently working to develop DE&I and business development programs. Having spent the past several years developing a high-touch educational program to increase gender diversity on corporate boards, she was excited to originally join the SASF Board as Governance Co-Chair. She is the proud parent of two rescue dogs, Bella and Sophie, and looks forward to the day when she can bring more animals into the home she shares with her husband, Adan. Alex is an active volunteer with the Seattle Animal Shelter on the dog walking and critter foster teams. She is a proud alumna of Tulane University and is currently pursuing her MBA at the Foster School of Business.

Heidi is an engineer in the aviation industry with experience in project management, federal regulations and process improvement. Her recent past experience as a Director of Operations for a non-profit in Chicago will benefit SASF with their near and long term goals. Heidi loves animals/wildlife both small and large and is excited to help the animals at the Seattle Animal Shelter. She wishes to give back because she believes that animals make our world a better place and we need to be there for them as much as they are here for each of us. Heidi has an MS in Quality Assurance and BS in Aeronautical/Mechanical Engineering. In her free time, Heidi enjoys Mountain biking, Snowmobiling and exploring the PNW and Canada with her husband and their 2 dogs – Skeena and Darcy.

Julia is a tax technology professional currently working in the tech industry. She was an active volunteer at the shelter for many years as a dog walker and foster dog program coordinator and is excited to continue giving back through the SAF Board! In her free time, Julia enjoys traveling, trying new restaurants, watching sports (Go M’s/Dawgs/Hawks!), and constantly learning about animals. Her desire to learn pushed her to go back to attend University of Washington in 2020 to receive her Certificate of Applied Animal Behavior. Julia lives in Issaquah with her husband, daughter, and twin boys! Julia’s dogs (Nana and Corky) crossed the rainbow bridge during the pandemic but were both adopted from SAS.

Katy is a marketing professional who is thrilled to combine her digital optimization background with her passion for animal welfare. Her marketing experience is heavily influenced by customer-first methodologies focused on maximizing motivation and value while reducing anxiety and friction. Though she has a soft spot for old dogs with graying hairs, she’s a true cat person at heart – having volunteered with cats at the Baltimore Humane Society before moving to Seattle to foster over a dozen cats with the Seattle Animal Shelter. In her spare time, Katy enjoys reading books of any genre, watching Disney movies, and playing trivia with friends.

Tamara is a corporate accountant working in Seattle’s thriving aerospace community. She is passionate about animal welfare and began volunteering with SASF in 2019 as a Development Committee member. Growing up in a home filled with rescue pets ranging from dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and reptiles, her family has long been active in caring for homeless and discarded animals. Tamara is an MBA graduate of Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon, where she obtained her undergraduate degree in finance from Portland State University, and also holds a Certified Public Accountant license in the state of Washington. Tamara lives in Seattle with her husband and is dog mom to their rescue pibble, Piglet.

Andrea Christensen’s love and respect of animals started at an early age. She has shared her life with many cats over the years and feels honored to have been the recipient of their love and companionship. Andrea’s 25+ year career in non-profit and fund development work has focused on matching donor interest with the funding needs of programs in arts, public radio, conservation and higher education. As a SASF board member, she is thrilled to offer her professional skills to encourage support for SAS to enrich and enhance the lives of animals in preparation for adoption.

In 2021, Andrea and husband Jon became proud parents to 20 pounds of purr and cuddle–Knuckles. Besides working on Knuckles’ weight-loss plan, Andrea enjoys exploring the countless cultural opportunities in Seattle, cooking, hiking, backpacking, cycling, kayaking, travel, and visiting national parks.

Jocelyn Bouchard started her career in animal welfare over 30 years ago in Vancouver, Canada working as a licensed veterinary technician at the BCSPCA. She moved to Maui in 1993 and started a 21 year tenure with the Maui Humane Society, 11 of them as its CEO. During this time she earned her certification as an animal welfare administrator and was awarded the “Outstanding Nonprofit Executive Director” award in 2007 for her work increasing the programs, services and overall visibility of the organization.

In 2014, she moved to Oahu and joined the Hawaiian Humane Society where she served as Director of Operations and oversaw a 10 million dollar construction project renovating the adoption, intake and medical center for the Society.

In 2016, Jocelyn, her teenage son, Ian, and their two dogs moved from Hawaii to “the mainland”. They spent a year in Arizona, where Jocelyn served as Executive Director of Yavapai Humane Society before the opportunity to move closer to family and friends brought her to Tacoma, WA. Jocelyn served as Chief Operating Officer for The Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County but when she saw the Deputy Director position at Seattle Animal Shelter was available she jumped at the opportunity.

Jocelyn joined SAS in October of 2019. She currently lives with her adult son and his boyfriend in Federal Way. They all share their space with the best dog, Tripp, whose travels across 3 states include a couple of plane rides and a road trip. Jocelyn also enjoys long walks, reading, puzzles and gardening.