Leadership

Kristi Haddock

President

Kristi began her support of VCAS as a foster parent and onsite volunteer in 2013.  During that time, she has been involved in various volunteer programs, serving as a volunteer lead for the cat program and the offsite adoptions program.  Kristi joined the ASFVC Board in 2018, as it was a goal of hers to help strengthen the Board and help develop ways for the community to help support VCAS’ life-saving mission.  Kristi is a Senior Service Program Manager for a major telecommunications company, supporting enterprise level customers.  She and her husband have three cats of their own, and a near constant parade of foster kittens.  In addition to enjoying her people and fur family, Kristi enjoys hiking, glamping, swimming, knitting, cooking and the beauty of California beaches.

Christine Dale

Vice President and Secretary

Christine grew up in Encino, CA. Despite living in a suburban neighborhood, she had cats, dogs, rabbits, fish, birds, pet rats, and even chickens. After college Christine lived in Chicago for 5 years, obtaining a master’s degree in molecular biology from Northwestern University and then an MBA from the University of Chicago. Over the years she worked for several biotech and pharma companies in the east and Midwest, specializing in regulatory writing for oncology. Christine returned to Southern California in 1999 as a medical writer for Amgen. After 15 years at Amgen, she left the company in 2014 to continue medical writing as an independent consultant. Christine has lived in Oak Park since 1999, with a variety of animals. She’s ridden horses most of my life and rode at Foxfield in Westlake Village for many years. She has always loved animals and has been active with the Humane Society of the United States for a long time. Christine joined the VCAS Foundation Board in 2021.

Debra Tosch

Treasurer

Debra currently volunteers her time as a co-lead with the Bunny Brigade at the VCAS Camarillo shelter. She also serves on the VCAS safety committee and fundraising committee. She is also the owner of Pawsitive Boarding which boards small animals.

Debra’s full-time job is the Director of Finance with the Search Dog Foundation where she has been working since 1997. With over 20 years of experience in Search and Rescue, Debra served as a FEMA-Certified Canine Search Specialist with her Search Dog Abby as a member of California Task Force 1. She was deployed to the 9/11 World Trade Center, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the La Conchita mudslide near Santa Barbara. She also deployed on other urban and wilderness searches while acting as Search Dog Foundation’s (SDF) Program Director and Captain of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue team. Debra served 10 years on the FEMA Canine Sub-Group and as a FEMA Search Team Testing Evaluator for 15 years. In 2005, she retired from active emergency service to take the board’s offered role of SDF’s Executive Director, a position Debra held until April 2017, when she switched to her current position.

Nicole Hay

Board Member

Nicole Hay received her Bachelor of Science degree at California State University Channel Islands. She focused her studies on the issues of animal abuse; including domestic animals, and animals used for entertainment and agriculture while studying to become an elementary teacher. After graduating, Nicole Hay founded Everlasting Vegan Events, an all-vegan event planning company, based out of Los Angeles, California. Prior to launching her own business Nicole worked as an Office Manager at Beagle Freedom Project (BFP) and an Event Coordinator at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Since the pandemic, Nicole has taken a turn with her career and recently become a 5th-grade teacher. Her passion lies in animal rights and animal education.

Genie Tuttle

Board Member

Genie founded Dog Genie, a positive dog training company, in 2003. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and a Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI). Genie also actively participates in several professional organizations dedicated to humane science-based training approaches (Pet Professional Guild, International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, to name a few). Genie has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from California State University, Northridge and has been training dogs of all breeds for more than 30 years. Genie was voted #1 Best Dog Trainer in Ventura County by the VC Reporter reader poll several years in a row. Her background is in Corporate Communications, Public Relations, Project Management, Marketing Operations, Customer Service, Fundraising and Event Planning. Genie and her husband enjoy spending time with their dogs, camping, motorcycling and seeing the world.
More information: doggenie.com

Dawn Knowles

Board Member

Board member Dawn Knowles grew up in a family of animal lovers. She grew up with many different pets and learned at a young age to care for them. She went to college at San Diego State University and earned her bachelor’s degree in Public Relations. In the early 2000’s she owned and operated a Horse Boarding and Cattle Ranch in Central California. She coordinated fieldtrips for local school children to come and learn about the animals and their care.

Dawn and her family moved to Ventura County in 2009. She has been a Realtor for over 26 years and is currently a Broker in Ventura County. She also has a background in marketing, property management, business training, public relations, and event planning.

She and her partner Rick have been doing “Pet of the Week” Videos at Ventura County Animal Services for over four years.

Dawn can be reached by email at dawnsunshineknowles@gmail.com or on Facebook and Instagram @Dawnt805