Ali joined the Santa Cruz SPCA as Executive Director in 2018, just as we began construction on our modern animal shelter facility. Alongside co-leading the building project, she embraced the challenge of leading the transformation of our operations into the beautiful, purpose-built shelter we proudly call home today.

Ali began working with companion animals in 1991 and has spent nearly 30-years working in and with animal shelters. Ali has held leadership roles at the East Bay SPCA, at the Humane Educational Society in Chattanooga, TN, and she spent more than 10-years at Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV).

While at HSSV, Ali was a key leader on their operations team, focusing on animal behavior and training. She also played cross-functional roles across the organization. Ali feels very fortunate to have been a part of the team that moved the operation from its traditional shelter to the state-of-the-art Animal Community Center. Prior to her work at HSSV, Ali received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the UC Davis Animal Science Department, where her studies focused on companion animal welfare and animal shelters.

Ali's four-legged family currently includes two cats and one dog, all of whom are, of course, former shelter animals. In her free time, she enjoys photography, road trips, live music, gardening, quilting, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Ali is grateful to lead a talented and passionate team as we work to continue increasing our impact by saving and touching more lives both within and outside of our shelter. Each day, she draws inspiration from the lessons taught by the homeless dogs and cats in her care.

Mandi has been a part of the SCSPCA team since 2009. With over 20 years of experience working in the animal care industry, she brings an extensive knowledge base related to animal care, medicine, behavior, and training. Along with shelter management, Mandi coordinates many of the organization’s marketing campaigns, social media presence, community engagement, and programming efforts. During her time with the SCSPCA, she has also taken an active role in animal welfare legislation, attending the Humane Society of the United States’ Lobby Day in 2012, and testifying at a Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting to help pass SB 1221, a bill banning the use of hounds for bear and bobcat hunting.

Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Mandi has lived a life that revolves around animals. She took pride in caring for her childhood dogs, cats, horses, goats, chickens, and rabbits, and currently enjoys riding her horse Biggs and walking her dog Sage. Mandi has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an emphasis in PR from California State University at Northridge.

Brenna has lived in Santa Cruz and worked in animal care, client care, shelter management and education at SCCAS and the SCSPCA for more than 20 years. She joined SCSPCA in May of 2006 as the humane educator.  As humane educator she built up our programming to include 8 weeks of summer camp, an after school and weekend junior volunteer program and a reading program in addition to reaching over 4,000-5,000 students each year through our classroom education program. Over time she progressed to Manager of Volunteer and Humane Education Programs and began building both the volunteer and foster program for the agency that is now regularly over 350 volunteers strong!  Brenna's love for animals is matched equally by her love of people and informs her focus on bringing people and community together to work toward a more humane minded society.

Brenna lives in Soquel with an SCSPCA-adopted pug mix named Poe, a rescued blue and gold macaw named Loki, her husband Jeff and their two sons. Brenna has a B.A. in marine biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Lynn first joined the team in 2005 and has managed the shelter’s accounting needs since 2011. A CPA by profession, she works primarily with local non-profits and enjoys her time at the shelter, where she can pair her accounting skills with her love for animals, on any given day gaining a “lap assistant” or a “keyboard helper.” She enjoys playing soccer, reading, and doing jigsaw puzzles.

Christina joined the SPCA in 2023 as Development Coordinator. Guided by a profound devotion to animals, she has volunteered for numerous animal welfare organizations over the last ten years. Caring for the evacuated animals during the CZU Lightning Complex Fires in 2020 solidified her decision to dedicate her life to animal rescue and welfare.

Christina has an MS in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University and enjoys keeping up with the latest trends and advancements in animal advocacy. Outside of her professional endeavors, Christina finds solace on the beaches of Santa Cruz, where her two devoted rescue dogs always accompany her.

Yesenia brings over 10 years of experience in human services, having worked across a variety of nonprofit organizations with a strong focus on volunteer engagement and community impact. She is deeply passionate about the nonprofit sector and believes that volunteers are truly the heart of every organization, playing a vital role in creating meaningful change.

Throughout her career, Yesenia has enjoyed building relationships with volunteers, supporting their growth, and helping them feel connected to the mission. Her commitment to giving back extends beyond her professional work—she has also volunteered with a nonprofit animal rescue, combining her love for service with her compassion for animals.

At home, Yesenia enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and their two dogs. In her free time, you can often find her walking along the beach, hiking local trails, or baking for family and friends.

 Nicole joined the Santa Cruz SPCA Team as an Adoptions and Client Care Coordinator in 2021. Originally from Vancouver Island in Canada, she grew up riding and training horses. Nicole has lived in Santa Cruz for the last 9 years and feels incredibly lucky to call such a beautiful place home.

Nicole moved into the new role of Adoptions and Client Care Lead at the end of 2022. Aside from spending time with the animals, her favorite part about her job is getting to know potential adopters and community members so as to match them with the perfect four-legged family member. To put it simply: taking the pets, taking the people, and putting them together! During her free time, she loves sharing a good meal with close friends, searching for vintage clothing and books, and taking walks with her SCSPCA Alumni cat, Walt—on leash of course!

 Shay joined the SCSPCA Client Care and Adoptions team in November 2024. Born and raised in the Central Valley, she has always been a passionate lover of all animals and grew up volunteering with the local animal shelter and SPCA. After graduating with her Bachelor's degree in Marine Biology from University of California, Santa Cruz, Shay started her career in animal care working with marine mammals for many years. In addition to this, she worked for a start-up software company and started her own business in environmental education and marine conservation, where she was able to build her skillset in administration, sales, HR, outreach and marketing.

She has volunteered with many nonprofit organizations (including The Monterey Bay Aquarium and The Marine Mammal Center) and still enjoys volunteering her time when she can. In her spare time, Shay can be found hanging out by the ocean, tide pooling, hiking, cooking, and spending quality time with her family, friends, and pets (including all her fish!). She is excited to start this new career journey in animal welfare with the SCSPCA.

 JoAnna made the transition from long-time volunteer to Client Care staff in 2019. She self-identifies as a “dog person” and loves being around lots of them, including her four at home, all adopted from the SPCA. Her fantasy is to have a large sled team made up of Chihuahuas. When she did Agility trials with her Cattle Dog, Tallulah, she loved spending the weekend with hundreds of excited, happy dogs and their owners.

For over 20 years, JoAnna worked for the Dickens Project at UCSC. In 2018, her short play, “Christmas with Dickens” was performed at local libraries, and her short stories have been read on the radio.

 Teresa joined the team in 2018, initially in a hybrid Facilities and Animal Care position, before moving into an Animal Care Coordinator role, and then in 2025, into her current role as Animal Care Supervisor.

Teresa has a background in hospitality. She loves the outdoors, taking road trips, listening to music and being around loved ones. Teresa is a very proud mother of two young adults.

 Ana has been an important part of the SCSPCA’s animal care team since 2012. She works incredibly hard to ensure the health and well-being of each animal that comes through our doors, and she carefully maintains a high level of care throughout their stay. Ana also assists with volunteer orientation and training as well as the management of in-kind donations. When she’s not working hard for the animals, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, and watching movies.

 Luisa joined the SCSPCA facilities team in 2015. With a natural desire to clean and organize, Luisa dives into her sanitation duties with vigor. She enjoys creating an environment conducive to the health and happiness of all the shelter guests, and she meticulously delivers just that. In her free time, Luisa enjoys socializing with friends, crocheting, and baking.