With a fifteen year career in non-profit development, Kristen brings fundraising acumen and insight to our board. Since 2017, Kristen and her family have been active in our foster program, but Kristen has been engaged in the local animal welfare community for many years. Along with their four children and two dogs, Kristen and her husband, Gary love fostering and educating their friends about the benefits of choosing pet adoption.

Laura is a retired Business Manager for John Burroughs School in St. Louis. For over three decades, she established and maintained firm financial practices at John Burroughs School while taking time to mentor other business officers in the region. She is the recent recipient of the Will J. Hancock Unsung Hero Award, which is given to business officers who have made extraordinary contributions to their schools and exemplify exceptional integrity, knowledge and motivation.

Cheryl is Chief of Staff for the President of Ameren Illinois.  She fell in love with the mission, vision, and values of the organization after touring the shelter when it first relocated to East Saint Louis.  She has been employed by Ameren holding various roles of increasing responsibility for more than 30 years.  Cheryl has always been an advocate for animals and enjoys volunteering at the shelter as a dog walker.  She and her husband Doug have three children and two dogs.

Jessica is the Digital Product Owner for Pro.Petfinder.com at Nestlé Purina, responsible for the shelter and rescue experience on site. With volunteer experince in our pet food pantry, fundraising, and leading successful volunteer groups, she brings more than a decade of experince in the Animal Welfare industry. Understanding the joy her two pit mixes bring to her family, including her husband, Tony, and 1 year old, Gwen, she is passionate about helping Gateway Pet Guardians achieve it strategic goals in the community.

Kate is a proud Arkansas native. She studied journalism and art history at Emory University, and her first job out of school was with The Oxford American, a nonprofit literary magazine printed in Arkansas. Kate moved to St. Louis in 2011 to fundraise for Provident, Inc., a social service agency. She joined the advancement team at Washington University in St. Louis in 2015 and is currently a Senior Regional Director of Advancement. Kate and her husband live in University City with their dog, Toto, and cat, Javert, whom they adopted from Gateway. 

drkelsey@gatewaypets.org |(she/her pronouns) 

Dr. Kelsey is a St. Louis native who received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University. Throughout vet school, she gained experience working at a non-profit low cost clinic as well as the county dog shelter where her passion for dentistry, shelter medicine and helping pets belonging to low income families grew. Kelsey shares her home with a former feral cat named Marshall, a foster fail pitbull named Mathers, and a GPG alumni kitten, Emi (short for Eminem). 

Travis Broadfield, Veterinary Technician- Travis is a Cahokia native who has over fifteen years of experience working with animals, including extensive shelter medicine experience.

sara@gatewaypets.org | 618-687-8007, ext. 710 (she/her pronouns)

Starting as a volunteer in 2014, Sara became our first Intake, Networking and Diversion Manager in January 2019. At home, Sara and her adorable son, Alec love to spend time with their resident pets and foster pets from our shelter.

cara@gatewaypets.org | 618-687-8007, ext. 708 (she/her pronouns)

Starting as a volunteer and foster in 2019, Cara quickly began managing the Cat Placement and Foster program, which allows her to oversee the journey of every feline who comes to our Pet Resource Center. In October 2020, Cara decided to get more involved by taking on bookkeeping and property management responsibilities as our first-ever Facilities Manager. Cara is a wife and mom to two teenagers, two cats and many foster kittens!

Melissa’s love for animals started at a young age. Working with live stock on her family farm and saving strays around the farm. She started working at a boarding facility and quickly grew a deeper passion for working with animals one on one. When at home she loves spending time with her husband Josh, son Logan, and daughter Stella.  She also has a 14 year dog named Buddy and bearded dragon named Dude. 

nicole@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns)

Nicole says: I have 3 cats all distributed by the cat system, rescue has been a passion since a young age. Once I can manage it, Hospice foster and Golden year fostering are something I thrive to do as a help to the community.

alison@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns)

Alison joined Gateway Pet Guardians in 2023 as the Marketing and Development Manager. A lifelong ‘animal person,’ she began volunteering at local animal rescues after moving to St. Louis city in 2017. She’s excited to write grant proposals to support GPG’s many important animal welfare programs and to develop marketing strategies to best reach and serve the communities in the East Side Pet District. She has four cats: Manet, Penelope, Berta, and Ichabod as well as a rotation of foster cats.

drsarah@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns)

Sarah is very experienced in shelter medicine and has a passion for helping pets and the people who love them. She received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from The University of Missouri-Columbia in 2008 and has been a practicing veterinarian ever since. Her background is primarily in shelter medicine and animal welfare, and she also has experience treating owned pets. Sarah shares her home with one cat, a handful of snakes/lizards, and two wacky Australian Cattle Dogs (Karl is pictured).

becky@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns)

Becky is a highly experienced Customer Service professional with over 20 years of dedicated service. Known for her friendly and approachable demeanor, she has a strong drive to assist others and build positive relationships. In her free time, Becky enjoys exploring local history and uncovering the stories hidden within old cemeteries.

mackenzie@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns)

Starting as a foster and volunteer, Mackenzie quickly transitioned into a part-time animal care specialist position and is now our first-ever Outcome Specialist, which is a position focused on ensuring positive outcomes for all animals entering our shelter.

jill@gatewaypets.org | 618-687-8007, ext. 705 (she/her pronouns)

Jill has been working and volunteering in animal welfare since 2006, fostering over 500 dogs (mostly bully breeds) and cats. Jill quit her corporate sales career in 2017 and began her career at Gateway Pet Guardians (GPG) in 2017. Jill currently serves as the Director of Operations at GPG which is the largest Pet Resource Center in the St. Louis region.  Jill oversees all animal care, foster and adoption and intake, diversion and community programming.  Jill is passionate about implementing progressive programming with focus on reducing unnecessary euthanasia and increasing programming aimed at keeping pets with their people.  On a personal note, Jill is passionate about social justice issues, cheesy reality dating shows and anything related to brunching.  Jill has three dogs of her own, Gus, Bessie and Howie, as well as two cats, Jada and Lincoln.  

With over a decade of professional grooming experience and a sweet, calming presence, we are beyond excited to have Tanoshia who is always ready to make every pup in her care look, smell and feel furbulous!

anna@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns)

Anna Kerr is an O’Fallon, IL transplant from Quincy, IL and has six years’ experience in animal care and as a surgery tech at Quincy Humane Society.

amanda@gatewaypets.org | 618-687-8007, ext. 5 (she/her pronouns)

Amanda began volunteering with GPG in 2019, and  After working in criminal justice and psychology for a few years post college, Amanda realized she wanted to work with animals so she decided to pursue her passion full-time. She started as an animal care specialist and later took on roles supporting adoption and foster operations and other various animal-related programs. Her dedication and leadership led her to her current role as Animal Care Director, where she continues to make a significant impact on the well-being of animals.  

rhianna@gatewaypets.org | 618-687-8007, ext. 707 (she/her pronouns)

For nearly a decade, Rhianna has enjoyed being a vet technician. At home, Rhianna and her adorable son, Ramsey have a senior pitbull, Jayda and in 2020, they adopted a four-month-old pitbull puppy named Sunny Tails. In addition to the pups, her family also includes an eight-year-old cat named Darwyn and a bearded dragon with a foot injury named Kyle.

blaine@gatewaypets.org (he/him pronouns) 

After many years of customer service and retail management, Blaine discovered his calling in animal welfare in 2023. Following a year of Animal Care, he now looks forward to his role of Placement Specialist to help shelter animals find their forever homes. He is also the proud parent of two amazing rescue dogs!

kristi@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns)

Kristi is a St. Louis native who graduated from Truman State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and french. From years of experience as a behavioral health case worker to her most recent role as a client service coordinator at a pet hospital, helping others has always been her passion. She is the devoted mom of three brilliant cats, Callie, Clio, and Cornie.

diana@gatewaypets.org | 618-687-8007, ext. 715 (she/her pronouns)

Diana brings more than 15 years of fundraising/development experience. Her last role focused on strengthening relationships with donors at University of Missouri-St. Louis and she has experience in both health care and education. Diana has served on the boards of two animal adoption agencies and has a passion for animal welfare. Diana shares her home with one cat and two retired greyhounds.

rin@gatewaypets.org | 618-687-8007, ext. 714  (she/her pronouns)

Rin brings seven years of veterinary experience including some adoption counselor experience and most recently, in a management position at Banfield Animal Hospital.

david@gatewaypets.org | 314-399-9738  (he/him pronouns)

Working and volunteering with animals for many years, I made the commitment to move to animal welfare full time. Returning home to Illinois after almost a decade in Wyoming, I have been lucky to have the opportunity to take on many roles serving the animals within our community. Coming to Gateway Pet Guardians from a background in placement, I have homed over 1500 companions in St Clair County, which I consider to be one of my greatest achievements. I look forward to continuing my work with GPG, and enriching the lives of the animals within our care.  

danielle@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns)

Danielle has a bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences that she received from Southeast Missouri State (SEMO). Danielle first started with GPG as an animal care intern in June of 2022, and has quickly been promoted throughout the years to various roles including Animal Care Specialist and Placement Specialist. She now holds the role of Adoption and Foster Manger where she manages our Placement Team, oversees our current fosters, and helps new fosters and adopters find their next canine or feline friend! 

amandaw@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns) 

Mandi has over 10 years of customer service experience and most recently was a retail supervisor for five years. We were first introduced to Mandi when she visited our pet supply retail store and quickly became one of our many regular customers. Mandi started with GPG in early September 2022 as our first-ever Retail Inventory Associate and hit the ground running with her welcoming energy and can-do attitude.

haley@gatewaypets.org (she/her pronouns) 

Haley is a St. Louis area native, who has always had a passion for nonprofit work. Her previous role introduced her to the world of animal wellness, and she has been enamored with the field ever since. She is excited to take-on the GPG catalog of events and work with the Development team to cultivate strategies that help to best serve the community. She doesn’t currently have any animals of her own, but spreads the love on all the office furry friends that visit.