Executive Director

Tereza Marks been involved in the nonprofit and educational arenas for over 25 years. Her passion for working with non-profits began when she started working just out of graduate school with a wildlife rehabilitation organization outside of Washington, DC. She has since served on boards of non-profit organizations in Maryland, Virginia, and Florida, and as Executive Director of both local and regional organizations, including the Eastside Audubon Society and Pawsitive Alliance in Washington state. She has a bachelor’s degree in ecology from the University of Arizona, a master’s degree in life sciences from the University of Tennessee, PhD work in Environmental Policy from George Mason University, and a graduate certificate in nonprofit leadership and management through Capella University. She is a Certified Nonprofit Professional and recently moved to the Show Low area with her husband and two rescue dogs. In addition to her non-profit work, Tereza has taught at the secondary school and university levels, and she worked in statewide outreach for the Arizona state government. But her heart belongs in the nonprofit world.

Board Member
Chairperson of the Board

Meredith has always found great joy in the company of, caring for, and helping pets and animals of all kinds. Even in grade school, whenever there was a sick or injured “wild” animal, or a dog that needed to be walked, neighbors would seek her out, and she would happily oblige. Her childhood dream was to be a jockey, but that dream never came to fruition as by 7th grade, she was taller than her basketball coach. Meredith grew up about 30 minutes outside of Chicago, and lived in New York, where she honed her lifelong love of pizza. Marketing and advertising were her first career; she is now a third-generation REALTOR®.
While living in Show Low the past 11+ years, Meredith found her passion in training canines and the privilege of helping others, working alongside law enforcement agencies via K-9 Search and Recovery —Cadaver/Human Remains Detection (HRD) and other scent work—and K-9 Search and Rescue with her husband’s and her two K-9s. Meredith started with Pet Allies by sponsoring kennels and being a sponsor of the Shelter’s annual “Duck Pluck” fundraising event; in 2022 she became a member of the Pet Allies Animal Shelter Board of Directors.

Board Member
Fundraising

Nicole grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, which is where she developed her love for animals. In her mid 20’s, she moved to Colorado & lived there for the next 14 years. She moved to the Show Low, Arizona area in 2015 & at that time started working as a realtor. Shortly after moving to the White Mountains she adopted her cat, "The Dude," from Pet Allies. She and her husband Tom later adopted their dog, "Bear". Nicole was a sponsor for the 2022 White Mountain Rubber Duck Pluck 2022 and later that year she & her husband started volunteering at the shelter by walking the dogs. Shortly after that she decided to join the Pet Allies Board of Directors to help make the lives better for the shelter pets.

Board Member
Volunteer Coordinator

Katy Hunt hails from San Diego, California. She is a Senior Quality & Research Analyst with PenChecks Trust and lives in Snowflake, AZ. While in San Diego, Katy worked with The Mother Goose Parade Association, the Irish Congress of Southern California, the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and Frosted Faces (a senior pet rescue organization). She is the Community Action Team Chair at PenChecks Trust and has gotten approval for PenChecks Trust to be a sponsor for the annual Pet Allies fundraiser, the White Mountain Rubber Duck Pluck. Katy adopted "Howard" the cat from Pet Allies and says he is her big love!

Board Member
Board Secretary

Kathy was born and raised in California and moved to Arizona in 1964. She and her husband split their time between Show Low and Tucson after retiring from Tucson Unified School District after 30 years. They are proud parents of 1 son who lives in Show Low full time. Kathy volunteers at the shelter during the summer and enjoys every minute of it. They have adopted 3 dogs over the past 8 years, Dolly, Penny, and Hershey.

Board Member
Social Media Coordinator

Anne worked for 23 years as a paralegal and then in 2006 started her own business as a personal chef. She loves to cook, especially for the Pet Allies shelter, and is always experimenting with different recipes. Having volunteered for many years during her life & a staunch animal advocate, when she retired in 2020, she wanted to help Pet Allies as much as possible. Anne started handling social media for the shelter in 2019, & became a Board member in 2020. She is from Dallas, Texas and spends the winter months there, with the rest of the year being spent in Lakeside, in the White Mountains, where she & her partner Kathy enjoy the weather & beautiful surroundings.

Board Member
Grant Writing

Mary Jo is from New York, is married & has 2 daughters, 4 granddaughters & 2 great grandsons. She has lived in various places across the country. Mary Jo retired from Child Protective Services in 2015 where she was an investigator for 7 years for Navajo County. Prior to that she worked as a Manager for Arizona's Children Assn., taught foster parenting classes, was a legal secretary for over 20 years & was a secretary at the International Chamber of Commerce. Her past & current hobbies/sports include skydiving, riding her Harley, archery, RVing, fishing, swimming, kayaking, snow shoeing and crafts. Mary Jo loves volunteering and helping animals and people. She is also a member of PETA.

Spay/Neuter Clinic Manager
Bookkeeper

Mechel has been associated with Pet Allies over the years for some time. In addition to her new position as Clinic Manager, Mechel is also the bookkeeper for the clinic & shelter, in addition to being able to help in the operating room, when needed.

Dental Technician

Kathy grew up on a farm in a small town in Nebraska where she developed her love for animals large and small. In her younger years she rode hunter jumpers which is where her love of the Jack Russell began and started her name at Pet Allies " Jack Russell of all trades". Currently Kathy has 4 Jack Russell's,1 Golden Retriever, 2 Horses and 3 Feral Cats. In 2005 she and her husband bought property in the White Mountains where they enjoy riding their horses and exploring wildlife in the forest. Kathy has been associated with Pet Allies for 7 years in which she started volunteering at the clinic recovering animals after surgery and was then hired as a Recovery Technician. After a short time she was placed in the position of Surgery Technician and Dental Technician which is her current duties at Pet Allies. Pet Allies is fulfilling her passion for working with animals.

Alice Hill
Clinic Recovery Leader

Animal Care Technician

"Kat" and her family recently located to the White Mountains of Arizona from San Diego. Over the past 7 years, she has had experience working in a boarding facility and running her own pet sitting business. She was thrilled when she found a position at Pet Allies, as she has always loved providing care and love to any and all animals as if they were her own pets.

Lead Animal Care Technician

Christina (“Chris”) Elenes joined the Pet Allies staff in August 2022, after having recently moved to the Vernon, Arizona area from Norco, California. Chris previously worked at the Norco Animal Shelter in many capacities, starting as a volunteer at the age of 12. She was hired at the age of 15 as a kennel attendant/tech and eventually became an Animal Control Officer with them, where she was on call many times after hours. Chris has always wanted to live in a small town, so she was very happy to find that Pet Allies had a position open when she was looking to make a move. Chris has volunteered at a wildlife sanctuary and has worked with everything from horses, peacocks, birds, dogs, cats & more in her lifetime of helping animals. At one time, Chris fostered 30 kittens who were “bottle babies” in her home! Pet Allies is happy to have such an experienced & talented person working for the shelter.

Animal Care Technician

"Jess" grew up in California and moved to Arizona in 2005. She has always been passionate about working with animals, and has worked at animal hospitals, animal boarding facilities and even a pig farm.