Board Of Directors

Ann Wondolowski, President

Ann Wondolowski has been on the Board since 2014, serving as Treasurer from 2014-2021, and moving into the President role in 2021. Ann is a retired Information Technology Leader who spent over 25 years in the high tech industry. She served as the Chief Information Officer at Force10 Networks, and prior to that held a variety of senior level roles at Sun Microsystems. In her “Second career” since leaving the high tech industry in 2011 Ann has worked as a volunteer with a variety of Nonprofit groups, including SeniorNet of San Jose, Community Leaders at the Service of Society (CLASS), MentorNet, Junior Achievement, Humane Society of Silicon Valley and Golden Gate Lab Rescue. She also served as the Operations Director for the Parents Club of Palo Alto and Menlo Park for 3 years from 2014-2017.

Ann grew up in the Bay Area, and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering and Computer Science from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University. She has a dachshund Ollie, along with her cat Layla (who rules the house). When she is not volunteering with various nonprofits, Ann enjoys spending time with her 11 great nieces and nephews who live in the Bay Area, as well as hiking, reading, and gardening.

Laura Reederson, Vice-President

Laura joined the Board of Directors in January 2017, and initially served as Secretary. She served as President from 2019-2021, and has recently moved into the Vice-President position.

Laura has been a lifelong animal lover, and currently shares her home with three cats, one of whom is a Town Cats long-term foster. She has served as Secretary of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund at Santa Clara University School of Law, and as a volunteer attorney for Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Laura is a practicing attorney and works for a small biotech firm in the bay area. When she’s not busy at work or serving in her role on the Town Cats Board of Directors, she likes to spend her time hiking, running long distance, camping, skydiving, and (slowly) learning to play bass. She also loves to knit, and plenty of Town Cats cats and kittens have received her blankets through Town Cats’ partnership with Comfort for Critters. Laura is always looking for more ways to help save cats and her hope is to help expand on the great work that has been done by the Board, other volunteers, and the dedicated staff over the past 20+ years and lead Town Cats into the future.

Eugenia Gutman, Secretary

Eugenia joined the Board in April of 2021. She immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1996 and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since then. She has a wide variety of experience in the Technology Industry, having worked in Database Project Management, Product Management, and Data Analyst roles. She also has experience as a small business owner, having started her own business a few years ago. She holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Novosibirsk State University, an MBA from Cal State Hayward, and a professional certificate from the Institute for Statistics Education.

Eugenia is a long time animal lover,  having loved playing with cats and dogs and watching them since she was a kid. She says she worked very hard to convince her parents to adopt their first family cat. She always wanted to be a veterinarian but never followed up on that dream, so working with Town Cats is at least a step in making a contribution to the wellbeing of the cats. In her free time she enjoys hiking with her dog, listening to her cat’s purrs, swimming, camping, and reading.

Demey Kashanian, Treasurer

Demey joined the board in March of 2024, taking on the role of Treasurer. He has a broad professional background in technology and business roles, and brings a diverse skillset to Town Cats.

He is a proud native of Southern California, whose upbringing was shaped by the sun-soaked beaches, diverse cultures, and vibrant energy of the region. Born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles, Demey developed a deep appreciation for the unique blend of urban living and natural beauty that defines Southern California. Demey is a passionate animal lover dedicated to the well-being and conservation of all creatures. From a young age, he found solace and companionship in the presence of animals, fostering a deep connection that has shaped his life’s journey. With a compassionate heart and unwavering dedication, Demey continues to be a voice for the voiceless, striving to create a brighter future where animals are respected, cherished, and safeguarded for generations to come.

Demey approaches every task with unwavering commitment and a relentless drive to excel. Whether facing challenges or seizing opportunities, Demey remains resolute in his determination to give his all, knowing that it is through hard work that dreams are realized, and goals achieved.

John Nickel, Director

John joined the Board in 2019, and brings strong technical skills and business savvy and experience to Town Cats. He has lived in the Bay Area since 1984, and has worked in a variety of companies with a range of skills and technologies. He has worked on the design of scientific instrumentation, drug development, network support and design, and audio/video systems. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow with Rahi Systems.

He has a love of animals and nature that has led him to respect and want to help our fellow travelers on this planet. He has been privileged to experience diving with sharks, photographing polar bears, watching the whales and other marine mammals in Monterey Bay and various other adventures with animals. But he says his most fulfilling experience is to come home to his cats. Over the years he has shared his family life with several strays that wandered into his house and became part of the family. He has also adopted a cat from Town Cats (Sir Wilson), who has integrated well into his family. All of the cats have brought joy into his family, and he views working with Town Cats as a way to help our four legged friends that do not have a voice.

Lauren Wickman, Director

Lauren Wickman joined the board in May of 2021. Lauren is a Bay Area native from Sunnyvale, who has over 15 years of experience in various operations roles with nonprofit and for profit organizations. Throughout her career as an operations leader, she has sought out organizations that are focused on revolutionizing the industry, education, and bringing joy to others, and has been passionate about creating innovative employee, animal and client experiences. She had the privilege to work at the world’s first cupcakery, Sibby’s Cupcakery, where she spent many days as a mad scientist creating new flavors. She was even asked to be on the TV show Cupcake Wars.

After that, she moved into Animal Welfare and the nonprofit industry, where she got to be part of an amazing cohort that helped create the world’s first model animal shelter, Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV). HSSV achieved all the standards set forth by the Association for Shelter Veterinarians in 2017 to accomplish this significant feat.  Lauren held a wide variety of senior management roles in her time with HSSV, and brings extensive animal welfare expertise to Town Cats. She currently works for VetnCare, the only veterinary owned and led community of Fear Free certified and AAHA accredited hospitals in America.

On the personal side, growing up you could always find Lauren hanging out with animals. She had 6 cats, 2 dogs, hamsters, and geckos, and fostered many stray bottle babies and kittens that she found. She also spent her summers at her grandparents’ ranch in Southern California where she got to care for bottle baby kittens, horses, sheep, chickens, and cows, and even learned to drive a tractor. Lauren has a strong entrepreneurial spirit, a fun sense of humor and a love for creating spreadsheets. She says her “superhero power” is bringing people together for a common goal.  In her free time she can be found tuning in to webinars to enhance her leadership skills, going hiking with friends, baking for her family, watching sci-fi with her fiancé or getting bossed around from her dog (Ms. Mj) and her cat (Anakin Skywalker).

Kristy Wong, Director

Kristy joined the Board of Directors in March 2022, serving as Treasurer for two years before handing the Treasurer reins over to Demey. Her journey with Town Cats started in 2014 when she began fostering kittens and cleaning adoption centers to remember her beloved cat PP.  Kristy lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and 3 dogs. Besides her love for animals, she is also passionate about mentoring underprivileged youth and empowering women.

Kristy currently works in go-to-market strategy at Google and has years of experience in sales, consulting, and finance. She is experienced in project management, sales strategy and operations, and financial analysis and hopes to bring these skills to support Town Cats in saving and bettering the lives of more cats. She holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley.

Nineveh Parker, Director

Nineveh joined the Board in May 2023, after serving on the staff in a variety of positions for several years. Being passionate about animals her whole life, Nineveh left the corporate world to pursue her passion for animal welfare at Town Cats. By managing and growing the foster program at Town Cats, she ensured more animals were in homes and fewer in shelters.  Nineveh continues to bring people and animals together in her current role as the Community Engagement Manager at Palo Alto Humane Society.  She is excited to stay at Town Cats as a board member in order to  serve as an advocate for all cats in the community.

Nineveh received a B.S. in Chemistry from Santa Clara University and has 20 years of experience in biotechnology, sales, and program development. Nineveh enjoys spending her free time with her daughter and four cats (Shadow, Tito, Bamboo, and Linus)

Gary Kidwell, Director

Gary joined the Board in October of 2023.   He has long supported Town Cats, and rescue organizations.   He has two feral rescue cats, Jaime (15) and Gandalf 10).

Before his retirement from high tech, Gary held various positions such as Director of IT Applications for Electronic Arts, Director HR Technology and Payroll for Intuit, and Senior Director HR Technology/Strategy at Symantec.   He brings a strong background in financial controls, as well as ethical treatment of people AND animals.  His focus is on helping Town Cats be the best they can be through partnership, compassion, and respect for each cat.

Gary has lived in the Gilroy area for the last 20 plus years.

 

William Han, Director

William just recently joined the Board in March of 2024. Stay tuned for more information about William!

Board Advisors

 

Cristina Hernandez

Cristina spent two years on the Board of Directors, from 2016-2018. When her term came up in 2018 she decided to step down from the Board and stay on with us in an advisory capacity. Cristina has been working in the Human Resources field for the past 15 years for small and large companies across the Bay Area. She is currently the Senior Manager, Human Resources for the San Francisco 49ers, managing the day-to-day HR operations for the organization.

Cristina holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and has obtained her PHR and SHRM-CP certifications. Cristina has always been an animal lover, having grown up with cats, dogs, horses, goats, and about every other animal you can think of. She enjoys donating her free time to various animal rescues across the Bay Area and has been known to take in foster animals from time to time. Cristina has two cats of her own and hopes to rescue a dog in the near future, assuming the cats agree to it!

Beth Ward

Beth served as Board President of Town Cats for 3 years. She is currently the Director of Animal Services for Contra Costa County.  From June 2001 until November 2015 she was the Vice President of Community Alliances at Humane Society Silicon Valley.  Prior to joining HSSV in 2001 she was the Director of Animal Care for Peninsula Humane Society. In 2008 Beth helped to form the WeCARE alliance dedicated to saving lives of homeless animals in Santa Clara County. Town Cats became one of the six shelters that was instrumental in ensuring that ALL healthy animals were saved in 2011 and every year since.    She brings to our board over twenty years of experience in the nonprofit animal welfare world.   We are fortunate to have her working with us in an Advisory capacity.

Gingy Cody