Catherine Chow
Board Member and Chief Executive Officer
Catherine Chow is an engineering leader and has held executive management positions in Fortune 500 companies across the telecommunication, information technology and e-commerce industries. She has led strategy and execution of product delivery into the marketplace with large technical cross-functional teams.
She is an avid supporter of shelter/rescue dogs and cats, believing that there are so many wonderful shelter animals who deserve loving homes. Wherever she travels in the world, she seeks out local animal shelters, tours their facilities, learns of their needs, and donates to their causes. Because of her strong belief in the mission of animal rescues and shelters, Cathy has adopted several shelter pets into her own family.
Catherine holds a masters in Mathematics from University of California, Los Angeles. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics/Computer Science from University of California, San Diego.
Stanley Perkins, MD
Board Member
Dr. Perkins is an anesthesiologist with Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his post-graduate training in anesthesiology at Stanford University. He received his bachelor’s degree in Biophysics from the University of California, San Diego.
Stan has had a long-standing love for animals. He has always had pets in his home, most often rescue dogs and cats, but also an occasional parrot, rabbit, iguana, snake, turtle, or tropical fish. Early in Stan’s career, one of his patients learned of his passion for animals and introduced him to a veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo. As a result of this meeting, Stan began volunteering at the Zoo and assisting the veterinarians with anesthesia for medical procedures. Over the years, he has anesthetized hundreds of animals and introduced new anesthesia equipment, drugs, and techniques to veterinary anesthesia at the San Diego Zoological Society.
Jeffery R. Zuba, DVM
Board Member
Jeffery R. Zuba obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduate studies in virology and immunology, he completed his residency in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine at San Diego Zoo Global. Dr. Zuba then received an appointment as Clinical Professor in Zoo Medicine at Colorado State University.
For the past 28 years, Dr. Zuba has been a staff veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Professional highlights include being a faculty member for the EnviroVet Institute (an ecosystem veterinary health program); an affiliate instructor at the Wildlife Health Center at the UC-Davis; the Director of Veterinary Programs for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Reintroduction Program; Veterinary Coordinator for the Condor Release Program in Baja, Mexico; and the Veterinary Advisor for both the AZA’s California Condor and White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plans.
Dr. Zuba consults and lectures internationally on a wide range of subjects including mega-vertebrate anesthesia and conservation medicine, and serves as a scientific advisor for several conservation and educational institutions. He is a member of the board of directors of two charitable organizations dedicated to funding humanitarian and animal health and welfare efforts. Dr. Zuba is an inventor and founder of a company that creates and manufactures specialized mega-vertebrate anesthetic equipment. He is also a principal investigator with a team of international veterinarians that developed anesthetic and laparoscopic protocols to perform the first ever surgical contraception procedures in free-ranging African elephants as an alternative to the controversial use of culling for population control.
Ann Springgate, JD
Board Member
Ann Springgate is an attorney specializing in policy development, regulatory compliance, and transactions in the energy sector. She also has significant experience in both federal and California state government agencies advising on procurement, contracting, and policy development and implementation. Prior to several years spent working for disaster relief agencies, Ann was a corporate transactional attorney.
Ann has been an animal lover all of her life, and with her family welcomed dogs, birds, fish, and turtles into the house. She now has a former shelter cat for company. She believes strongly in the mission and supports many wildlife and animal care organizations, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Ann received her B.A. from the University of California, Davis and her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Ann also has an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge.
Ana R. Ortiz, DDA, MBA
Advisor
Dr. Ana Ortiz is the Chief Dental Officer at Wesley Health Centers, a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center. Having owned dental practices for more than 20 years, she transitioned from private practice into public health/non-profit in 2013 to give back to underserved communities. Her non-profit work has given her extensive experience in grant writing, including establishing SMART objectives, progress reports around health outcomes, and budgets.
Dr. Ortiz earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery from University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry in 1993 and her Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2013. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Clinical Community Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC) Dental Directors’ roundtable.