 |
Mark Takhar, Executive Director
Mark comes to us from the BCSPCA, where he has worked since May 2003, most recently in the role of General Manager, Branch Services. As General Manager, Mark's responsibilities included day to day care of the animals, the many shelter volunteers, fundraising initiatives, humane education, and extensive involvement with recruiting, training, supervising and assisting to develop the careers of the various BCSPCA branch managers and other staff. Prior to that, Mark worked for over seven years at Livermore Animal Medical Clinics Inc. in the U.S. as District Operations Manager. |
 |
Joe Coffin, General Manager of Operations
Joe has been with CHS since 2005. Joe is a proud military veteran with over 23 years of service to our country. Joe spends his time between work, family and his pets Ty the boxer, Abigail the cat, Kimmy the bird, and Navaho the horse. |
 |
Carrie Fritz, General Manager of Finance
Carrie is a Certified General Accountant (CGA) since 1996. Carrie has been with the CHS since 2007. Carrie is the proud “Mom” of two former residents of the CHS. Her Spaniel cross, Kerby, was adopted in 1995, and Hershey her Collie cross that was adopted in 1998. |
 |
Ainsley Grant, General Manager of Resource Development
Ainsley joined the CHS team in February 2010. Ainsley has worked for many years in the non-profit sector and prior to joining CHS worked for a national environmental organization. As an avid animal lover, Ainsley shares her home with 2 dogs, Quincy and Aby, 2 cats, Sophie and Jemi (both rescues) as well as a busy family. |
 |
Christy Thompson, General Manager of Community Relations
Christy has been at CHS since 2010. Before joining the CHS team, Christy worked to advocate for people with disabilities and is proud to now be working on behalf of animals. Residents of her home include her husband Gary and 2 kids, 2 Guinea Pigs Sammy and Roxy, 3 dogs Gus, Penny and most recently Rufus whom she adopted from CHS. |
 |
Erin Bodman, Manager of Resource Development
Erin joined CHS in April 2013 after working several years at the University of Calgary in the area of fund development. Erin’s passion for animals has grown since adopting her talkative black cat, Whisky from CHS in 2011. In addition to Whisky, Erin also has a rambunctious border collie named Wyatt who is always on the go. |
 |
Melaina Slater, Manager of Human Resources
Melaina has been an employee of the CHS since 2006 and received her Certificate in Human Resources Management through the University of Calgary. She is a member of the Human Resources Institute of Alberta. Melaina shares her home with her 3 dogs, 2 cats, an Alexandrine Parakeet and 2 cockatiels, all of whom have been adopted from CHS. |
 |
Brad Nichols, Manager of Animal Cruelty Investigations
Brad Nichols has been with the Calgary Humane Society Protection and Investigations Department since 2005. Brad has a Bachelor’s degree in Justice Studies from Mount Royal College. |
 |
Philip Fulton, Manager of Community Outreach
Phil’s passion for youth involvement stems from teaching drama and working in theatre, specifically for young audiences across Canada. Prior to his involvement in Humane Education, Phil worked as an Adoptions Counsellor for four years which gave him the insight and training to help people and animals. His particular areas of interest lay in educating both young and not-so-young people on responsible pet ownership, canine body language/safety as well as debunking myths and stereo-types surrounding Pit Bulls. He believes that educating children on empathetic and humane treatment of animals will lead to healthier, more caring individuals and communities as a whole. Phil and his wife live with their old, very grouchy, one-eyed poodle from the CHS, Mike. |
 |
Barbara Walmer, Department Head of Behaviour
Barbara is currently the Department Head of Behaviour at the Calgary Humane Society and has been with the organization for 10 years. She has been training and working with dogs professionally for over 15 years. Her experience ranges from working in a vet clinic, to animal shelter work, to group class and private consults. Barbara has also participated in multiple speaking engagements on animal behaviour. Her qualifications include: Certified Pet Dog Trainer Knowledge & Skills Assessed (CPDT-KSA), Tellington TTouch Practitioner Level 2, Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) Certified Training Partner (CTP), TAGteach Level 1, and Certified Behaviour Consultant Canine – Knowledge Assessed. She is also currently a member of: Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers (CAPPDT), Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), and the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC). Outside of work, Barbara enjoys training and competing with her own dogs. She currently shares her home with two Golden Retrievers, and a Papillion. |
 |
Kelly Barton, Department Head of Animal Care
Kelly has been with the CHS for a total of 23 years. Prior to her position as DH of AC in 2006, she spent 11 years as DH/Special Constable in Protections. Kelly is passionate about all animals and has three pampered pets at home, Ricky a Poodle X Terrier, Elfie a cat and Tika a Border Collie – all adopted from the CHS. |
 |
Jeanetta Smallman, Department Head of Animal Admissions
In 1990, Jeanetta started as a volunteer and found her calling and since 1992, Jeanetta has been a dedicated employee of CHS. She has been a team leader for various departments and programs including, Adoptions, Remote Adoption centres, Pet Mobile, the Breed Rescue Program, Animal Health, the Pet Store, PSK/EB program and for the last several years in Animal Admissions where she leads a team of experienced, dedicated staff. Jeanetta and her husband Alan have had the joy of providing life-long homes for several rescued dogs, cats, bird and exotics. Her family currently are owned by 2 dogs, “Pilot” and “Mizuno”, a very spoiled pampered cat “Mystical Kitty” and a Gecko “Mr. Big”. |
 |
Tammy Mazubert, Department Head of Animal Health
Tammy (RAHT) has known all her life that she wanted to work with animals, and has been with CHS since 1997. Besides her husband and two kids, her life includes Nash (Am Esk X), Mac (DSH), Skittles (Guinea Pig) and Jazz (her horse). Tammy also works with the Alberta Spay/Neuter Task Force as the clinic manager. |
 |
Dr. Elissa Bessonette, Veterinarian
Elissa received her BSc from the University of Kings College in Nova Scotia, followed by her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree graduating 1999. Dr. Bessonette has worked at CHS since 2006. Elissa and her husband also have a rescued 13 year old English Springer Spaniel and a DSH from a shelter in Maine. |
|
Dr. Jagjit Cheema, Veterinarian
Dr. Cheema received his Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Sciences with Honours from Punjab Agricultural University, India. He also has a research based Master’s degree in Veterinary Surgery from the same university. Dr. Cheema has been with CHS since 2007. |
|
Dr Kathy Hilland, Veterinarian
Dr. Hilland has a BSc from U of C graduating in 1981 and then a DVM from WCVM graduating in 1985. She has worked at CHS for 18 years. She has two cats both from the shelter, Sushi and Pumpkin, and a wimpy guard dog reject (German Shepherd) named Shylo. |
|
Dr. Nicole Howard, Veterinarian
Dr. Howard got her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Victoria and went on to veterinary school in Saskatoon. She always had an avid interest in avian and exotic animal medicine. She also worked at an avian and exotics practice in Calgary before joining the Calgary Humane Society. |
 |
Shandell Van Hell, Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
Shandell started with Calgary Humane as a volunteer photographer in 2009. She began working part-time in the Marketing and Communications department and accepted a full-time position after completing her Bachelor of Communication Studies and receiving a diploma of Journalism Arts in 2011. She shares her rather small home with her husband Kent, a 100-pound reactive German Shepherd named Charlie, a feisty Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Maui and a fearless tuxedo cat named Shamus O’Toole. |
 |
Jamie Hickey, Humane Education Coordinator
Jamie Hickey has been with the Calgary Humane Society’s Humane Education team since 2009. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and is currently completing her Master’s of Social Work at the University of Calgary. When she is not running educational programs or in school herself Jamie devotes her time to family and friends, including her husband (Chad) and their dog (Storm), three cats (Orion, Honeydew & Rallo) and parrot (Captain), most of whom are CHS alumni. |
|
Kristina Watkins, Volunteer Coordinator
Kristina Watkins has served both as a volunteer Dog Walker (2007-2008) and as a part-time Adoptions Counselor (2012). She holds a B.S. in Anthropology from Cornell University and has worked in retail, property and sports management and oil and gas before following her gut and committing to CHS full-time. In addition to Juliet (a rescue cat she moved with from Houston), she has opened her home to three former CHS residents—Missoni & Etro (a feline mother-daughter pair she refers to as “The Italians”) and most recently, Klingon (a “big-boned” fella currently navigating a vet-monitored weight loss program). When not attending to her critters, she is off to the mountains to ski or training for a running race! |
 |
Jessica Walders, Remote Adoption Coordinator
Following her love for animals, newfound vegetarianism and a passion for animal welfare, Jessica started at the CHS in 2008 as an Adoptions counselor. She quickly fell in love with the work, the animals and the goal of helping as many animals as possible. She has held various positions at the shelter, including Adoptions counselor, Adoptions floor supervisor, Outreach program counselor and most recently, Remote Adoptions Coordinator. Jessica’s time away from CHS is spent walking her beloved (and very spoiled) dogs, Kona, Sophie and Jersey, two of which were rescue’s from CHS, hiking in the mountains and taking trips to Vancouver Island. |