ome people find their purpose. Others are led to it – by the animals who never leave their hearts.
For me, it’s always been animals. Growing up, they were my constants. Through difficult seasons and uncertain times, they were simply there – present, unconditional, and profoundly grounding in the way that only animals can be. If you’ve ever felt truly seen by an animal, you know exactly what I mean.
That bond never left me. It only deepened.
A Life Shaped By Animals
Over the years I rescued more animals than I can count. In 2010 a mama cat and her four kittens were dumped, and I took them in. I already had two young cats I’d rescued at just two weeks old – and despite my best efforts to find the right adopters for this little family of five, nobody quite met the bar. So I kept them all. Suddenly I had eight cats, a full house, and zero regrets. They are, quite simply, the loves of my life.
Around that same time I began following organizations like Best Friends Animal Society, Farm Sanctuary, and Woodstock Sanctuary – learning everything I could about rescue, advocacy, and the plight of animals across species. In 2015 I volunteered at Best Friends Animal Society, visited Farm Sanctuary three times including a three-day Farm Animal Care Conference, and founded my own nonprofit organization, Happy Animal Project, so I could do my own part to advocate for animals in a more intentional way.
I was just someone who loved animals deeply and wanted to learn, grow, and help as much as possible. That’s still true today.
The Sensitive Heart Behind the Work
I’m a highly sensitive person – and in animal welfare, that’s both a gift and a weight. The capacity to feel things deeply is exactly what drives people like us to show up for animals who can’t speak for themselves. It’s also what makes the losses so hard, the injustices so heavy, and the burnout so real.
I’ve felt all of it. And I’ve kept going anyway – because the animals keep calling us forward.
Over the years I continued deepening my knowledge, eventually becoming a certified canine and feline nutritionist through Southern Illinois University, and earning certifications in pain management, diabetes management, and dermatology management for dogs and cats through the American Animal Hospital Association. I wanted to be someone who could truly help – not just with heart, but with knowledge.
Skywalker
In the middle of all of this was Skywalker.
He was my soul cat. Incredibly special in ways that are difficult to put into words – the kind of animal presence that changes you. When Skywalker passed, the grief was profound. But it also clarified something in me. It made me want to go all in for him, for every animal still waiting, and for the people who show up for them every single day.
Out of that grief came something beautiful. Through Happy Animal Project we created Skywalker’s Comfort Kit Project – a program that delivers warmth and love to senior and special needs pets in shelters, rescues, and foster homes. Each kit includes cozy essentials and a heartfelt note from Skywalker himself, reminding these animals that they are seen, valued, and never forgotten. Inspired by the comfort he found in his final years – a soft blanket, a microwaveable heating pad he loved, soft toys, lickable cat treats, a warm spot to rest – these kits bring that same tenderness to pets still waiting for their forever homes.
Skywalker didn’t just inspire the program. He inspired everything that followed.
Why The Animal Impact Hub Exists
As AI began moving faster than most people could keep up with, I noticed something happening in the animal nonprofit world. Organizations – especially small ones – were struggling to understand how to use these tools. They needed resources. Practical, accessible guidance that didn’t require a tech background or a big budget.
I dove in. I completed the Google AI Essentials Specialization, began building and testing tools specifically for animal organizations, and started seeing clearly how I could combine everything – my love of animals, my creativity, my experience in nonprofit work and nutrition, and my growing knowledge of AI – into something genuinely useful.
That’s how The Animal Impact Hub was born.
My vision is simple but big: I want this to be the place that animal nonprofits, rescues, sanctuaries, and pet owners come to rely on. A trusted source of resources, guides, and community built specifically for the people who give so much of themselves for animals. I want you to feel supported here – practically and emotionally – because this work matters, and so do you.
Skywalker taught me that love is worth going all in for.
This is me going all in.
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