Kelly has served Alameda as a State Farm Insurance agent for more than 25 years. Last year she and her 16-member team opened a second office, in Fremont. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the 2017 Community Service/Business Person Award by the Social Service Human Relations Board of Alameda; and the Affiliate of the Year award from the Alameda Association of Realtors. The readers of Alameda Magazine voted her best insurance agent in Alameda for four years running. Kelly's team recently the Excellent award from the Alameda Chamber of Commerce. Kelly also serves on multiple boards, including the Alameda Education Foundation, the Greater Alameda Business Association and the Personal Insurance Federation. In addition, she promotes, hosts or serves as ambassador for numerous causes, including National Teen Driver Safety Week, Meals on Wheels, and the Agent Aspirant Program. Kelly credits her success in business to "treating all customers with care, quality and integrity," though she considers her greatest achievement to be raising her sons Matt and Drew with her husband Andy. Kelly takes her dog, Molly, adopted from FAAS, to work every day, where she has brought "much love and therapy."

Dr. Miller joined the board in 2012, a month after adopting his two cats, Zinnia and Farallon, from FAAS. He has lived in Alameda with his partner, Steve, since graduating from UC Davis in 1998 and is now a veterinarian and owner of Providence Veterinary Hospital & Clinic. He enjoys traveling and working on his home on Alameda's "Christmas tree lane." He is honored to help FAAS serve the pets and people of Alameda and strengthen FAAS’s position as the community’s leading steward for animals.

Julie brings a passion for animals and a 25-year career in business and education to the FAAS board. As a manager at outdoor retailer REI, Julie spent 15 years running retail stores. Most recently, she spent seven years as the executive director of Prime Time Early Learning Centers, a small chain of child care centers. She has a BA in business from Miami University and an MS in education administration from Indiana University. Julie began her work with animals more than 20 years ago as a "foster fail" for the Humane Society in Tennessee. Today, she and her husband, Jeff, and their son, Ethan, share their home with their fourth rescue dog, Moshi, a six-year-old white shepherd mix who was found dirty and malnourished on the streets of San Francisco; and their rowdy teenage boy cat Aiko, who they adopted from FAAS. Julie and her family also are avid outdoors people and often can be found hiking, biking, camping, kayaking or sailing.  

Gail served as a FAAS board member for eight years, from July 2014 to June 2022. She is an Enrolled Agent in Alameda with a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University and has been a tax consultant for more than 35 years. She has always been passionate about animals and has been a sponsor of the FAAS After the Ball fundraiser since 2012. She is thrilled to help FAAS continue its mission of educating the public and finding forever families for our furry friends. She lives in Alameda with her husband, Ahmet, their lab mix rescue, Allie, and their rescue "diva cat," Lily.

Janet joined the board in July 2011 and was elected president in July 2017. She believes Alameda’s homeless animals deserve a well-run shelter of their own to care for them until they are adopted. Janet owns one of the oldest owner-operated pet-sitting businesses in Alameda, JD’S Pet Care. She also has been the national director of the rescue for Akbash dogs for more than three years, and writes for the Akbash Sentinel. She specializes in dog training and behavior both professionally and in her volunteer work. She has two rescued Akbash dogs:Tash, from the Fremont shelter, and Dara, from the Placer County shelter. Their favorite places for walks are local dog beaches.

Steve joined the FAAS board in 2012 and served as vice president in 2017. He is the hospital manager for Park Centre Animal Hospital in Alameda. Park Centre has worked closely with the animal shelter for many years, and was a big supporter of FAAS when the group took over the shelter to prevent its closure. Steve also has served in the Alameda Photographic Society and on the board of the Park Street Business Association. He and his wife have two dogs, Kylie and Suzie, and a Burmese cat named Dexter.

Jina Han is the Executive Director of Alice Home Care, an Alameda-based home care agency providing compassionate in-home care for older adults across Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Prior to Alice Home Care, she served as a C-level HR leader for SF Bay Area startups, specializing in organizational leadership and people operations. She earned a B.A. in Mass Communications from UC Berkeley and has built her career around serving people—and animals—with empathy, integrity, and dedication. A lifelong animal advocate, Jina's passion for rescue began in childhood, when she regularly brought home stray animals to nurture, rehabilitate, and safely rehome. She later served as Operations Manager for Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue in Los Angeles, managing foster placements and adoptions. She also co-led Open Your Heart Animal Rescue, a grassroots organization that rescued, rehabilitated, fostered, and rehomed at-risk shelter animals. She still keeps in touch with many adopters today. Jina has been a proud supporter of FAAS as a volunteer dog walker and advocate for its mission. Inspired by her beloved rescue pup Chloe, who was by her side for 19 years, and the daily joy of her dog Elsa, she believes every animal deserves compassion, dignity, and the opportunity to experience the unconditional love of a forever home.

Jess Lilie is Chief Growth & Insights Officer at Emtherical, where she helps shape the company’s commercial strategy, market positioning, strategic partnerships, and growth roadmap as it pioneers a new generation of emotional intelligence and augmentative AI. She brings more than 30 years of executive leadership experience in market research, consumer insights, customer experience, brand strategy, analytics, and enterprise growth across healthcare, technology, media, and education.

Prior to joining Emtherical, Jess served as Vice President of Research, Insights, and Analytics at Sutter Health, where she founded and led the organization’s first enterprise Strategic Insights function. Throughout her career, she has built and transformed research and insights organizations for leading companies including Apollo Education Group, BabyCenter, CNET Networks, IDG, and Ziff Davis Media. She has advised executive leadership teams on customer experience, brand strategy, innovation, and growth, helping organizations translate complex data into actionable business decisions.

Jess has been an Alameda resident since 1997, raising two children and five rescue dogs, the latter a foster fail from Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS). She serves as a canine volunteer at FAAS and is a passionate advocate for animal rights. She is proud to support FAAS and to be a member of a compassionate community that cares for its animal and pet population.

Originally from Germany, Fabian traveled the world, living in Nicaragua, Australia, Canada, and Taiwan, before settling down in California. By day, he manages Apple’s global cloud infrastructure footprint. A passionate problem-solver, Fabian is a former Fixit Coach with a deep love for DIY projects and giving anything old or broken a second life. When not managing cloud networks or repairing vintage gear, he can be found outdoors, collecting vinyl records, or crafting drinks as a hobby mixologist.

Fabian’s dedication to service spans both global and local communities. His international volunteer background includes working with a non-profit for children with disabilities in Nicaragua, and he is a founding board member of an organization supporting an orphanage in Tanzania. Turning his focus locally during the pandemic, Fabian stepped into animal welfare. Today, he actively volunteers with multiple rescue organizations and remains on call for the police department and animal services for challenging, complex rescue cases. Fabian is thrilled to bring his unique blend of operational leadership, global non-profit experience, and hands-on rescue passion to the Board of Directors, where he promises to bring the same gentle care to the organization's mission as he does to the tiny kitten in the photo.